Hinterriß-Eng: Discovering Austria’s unknown pene-exclave

On the second day of my two-week roadtrip through Germany, I left the country behind and drove to an unknown corner of Austria to spend the morning at the foot of the Alps. I went to Hinterriß-Eng, the least visited of Austria’s three pene-exclaves (or practical exclaves), which are geographical oddities in the sense that they belong to one country, but can only be reached from another, in this case Germany. The other two are Jungholz and the popular Kleinwalsertal Valley, both of which had tax-free status until Austria joined the EU in 1995, unlike Hinterriß-Eng which has never had a special status. The other two are also much better known than Hinterriß-Eng, something that became obvious when I researched the areas. I was able to find lots of information about hikes and other things to see and do in Jungholz and Kleinwalsertal, but there was hardly any information on Hinterriß-Eng online.

It’s quite exceptional that Austria has three of these areas, which are all cut off from the rest of the country by the Alps, and can all only be reached via Germany. Hinterriß-Eng is situated in a rift valley at 928 m. above sea level, and is separated from the rest of the country by the Karwendel mountain range with peak heights of over 2,000 m. During my journey, I visited all three pene-exclaves, and they were all very different from each other. Despite being the least known, I thought Hinterriß-Eng was the most beautiful of the three.

I had spent the night by Lake Walchensee, next to a toll road that leads to the only road to the pene-exclave. Five euros is quite expensive to pay to just drive down a narrow road, but it was incredibly beautiful with gorgeous views of turquoise rivers and green pastures beneath the Bavarian and Austrian Alps.

I soon reached the tiny Bavarian village of Vorderriß, the last village before Grenzbrücke, the border bridge to Hinterriß-Eng. I parked the car and walked over the bridge, entering Austria for the third time in my life.

I’d been dreaming of returning to Austria’s mountains since 2004 when I fell in love with the Alps during a family trip to Salzburg. The memories of that trip are still vivid, despite the fact that I was only nine at the time. Now I was finally back, although in a different region of the Alps with an interesting geographical twist.

I spent the whole morning exploring the region, but in hindsight, I regret not spending longer there and going for a hike. I ate my lunch on a shady bench overlooking the river Rißbach before driving as far as I could through the pene-exclave. 19 kilometers into the valley, at the end of a toll road which is only open during the summer, I arrived in Eng-Alm, home to several cafés and Tirol’s largest alpine dairy farm. The closer I got, the less distant the sound of the traditional cowbells became.

I parked my car and explored the area by foot, following a footpath to a row of idyllic wooden cottages. I found myself constantly looking up with stars in my eyes as I wandered through the lush green valley below the mighty Alps.

After completing my short walk through Eng-Alm, I returned to the car and drove to Hinterriß, the only village in the pene-exclave which is home to the majority of its 54 inhabitants. A herd of cows kept me and a bunch of other cars waiting for a while as they slowly crossed the road, their cowbells ringing with every movement.

I paid a visit to the small church of Maria Schmelz, which has a beautiful golden interior and features several murals on the exterior. Then I went into the local restaurant and bought a diet coke, just so I could support a local business before heading back along the beautiful road to Bavaria.

My visit to Hinterriß-Eng was short and sweet, but it did give me a wonderful taste of the region. Someday, I hope to return to climb some of the many mountains surrounding the lush valley.