Kanisfluh is a striking, largely isolated massif rising in the heart of the Bregenzerwald and widely regarded as the most iconic mountain and landmark of the entire region. Its dramatic, rocky north face looms over the valley of Schnepfau, while the grassy southern slopes descend far more gently — giving the mountain two completely different faces depending on where you approach from.

The atmosphere here shifts dramatically with the seasons and the angle of approach: wild and craggy from the north, welcoming and pastoral from the south. The main summit, Holenke, sits at 2044 m where the borders of the municipalities of Mellau, Au and Schnepfau all meet. The whole massif is steeped in local legend and protected as a landscape conservation area, with alpine meadows giving way to bare rock the higher you climb.

How to reach the summit

• The ascent to Holenke follows a comfortable mountain trail rated T2 — suitable for reasonably fit hikers with some experience
• The other summits of the massif — Hoher Stoß (1806 m), Runde Kopf (2014 m) and Sonnenspitz (1965 m) — have no marked trails and require advanced mountaineering skills to reach

Good to know

• The Wirmsäule (1534 m), a distinctive rock spire, rises from the mountain's north face
• The area was designated a landscape protection zone in 2020, and the northeastern flank (Unterargenstein) has been a Natura 2000 site since 2015
• Between 2010 and 2012, a statue from Antony Gormley's Horizon Field project stood just below the Holenke summit

Local legend traces the name Kanisfluh back to a Swiss settler named Canisio, who, mourning his deceased bride, planted edelweiss from her grave on the slopes of the Holenke.