From Lake Constance in Germany, the E5 runs 600km through a remarkable kaleidoscope of landscapes and culture in Switzerland, Austria and Italy, to its destination at Verona. It traverses the Allgauer, Lechtaler and Ötztaler Alps. There is a good network of alpine refuges and guesthouses along the route.

INTRODUCTION

 ‘Nur wo man zu Fuß war,
war man wirklich.’
(‘You have only truly been
somewhere if it was on foot.’)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The immensely rewarding and remarkably varied E5 is a recognised European long-distance walking route that makes its way across the Alps from north to south. It starts at Lake Constance in Germany, crosses lowland Switzerland, spends a fair amount of time weaving its way across traditional rural Bavaria and mountainous Austria, before heading due south for Verona in Italy.
The E5 traverses the mighty Alpine chain over a relatively untypical stretch. In contrast to the western Alps, where the overall width is 140km, here in the central section the width bulges out to an impressive 240km, and the route encounters fascinating traditional mountain cultures and languages, and a landscape of soaring snow-capped peaks, immense glaciers, plunging valleys, shimmering lakes, gentle hills with pastureland, then a string of photogenic villages and towns. Probably the only constant factors all along the way are cows and, incidentally, E5 waymarks!

Walking the E5 is both a trek and a journey – an unforgettable one at that – in the footsteps of pilgrims, armies, medieval miners, herdsmen and romantic travellers across the great natural barrier that is the Alps. With a distance of 585.5km (360.7 miles), it takes around a month to complete the 29 stages (which add up to 173 hours). Accumulating 21,000m in height gain and 23,000m in loss, the E5 crosses 26 Alpine passes, drops as low as 59m above sea level and peaks at 2995m. Moreover, it entails five international border crossings, not one of which is manned or requires passport or customs inspection.
An outstanding feature of the E5 is its suitability for walkers of all abilities. While a good part of the route rates as 100% high-altitude Alpine, there are substantial tracts of simpler hill walking. As well as the odd testing climb to deal with, there is also even, level terrain, making for a pace that is decidedly leisurely at times. For example, the first three stages are on mostly flat terrain and can be done in light shoes if preferred.

The E5 was the brainchild of Bavarian walker Hans Schmidt. In 1969 he set off on foot from his home town of Sonthofen, in Germany, heading for his holiday home near Bozen in northern Italy. It took him nine days. A newspaper report of the venture led to a proposal to extend the route in both directions, hence the creation in 1972 of the complete route. However, despite the original plan to further extend the route to the Adriatic coast, and even Venice, this never happened, and today the E5 concludes quite satisfactorily in Verona (though optimistic old signs still refer to it inappropriately as the ‘Bodensee–Adria’).

SUMMARY OF THE E5

The E5 makes a leisurely start at Constance (Konstanz), following the splendid shores of vast Lake Constance to Bregenz, at the lake’s southeastern end. More correctly known as the Bodensee, Lake Constance is Europe’s third largest freshwater lake, and Germany’s largest. The ancient Romans called it the ‘Golden Bowl’, the ancient Alemannians the ‘Swabian Sea’, whereas for Hermann Hesse, who spent an idyllic and fruitful eight years living on its shores, it was ‘as far away from Berlin as I can get!’.
Formed by a glacier in a long-gone ice age, Lake Constance lies 400m above sea level. Covering a surface area of 539 sq km (208 sq miles), it extends for 68km (42 miles), the perimeter of its shores adds up to 273km (170 miles) and its waters reach a maximum depth of 252m (827ft). In summer the water temperature is 18–25°C, though this has been known to plummet and the lake to freeze during exceptionally harsh winters.

Fishing is carried out on a small scale, while the fertile hilly shores support farming and high-standard wine growing. Settlements have dotted the shores of Lake Constance since 6000bc, and intriguing remains of stilt villages can be still seen. The arrival of the Romans and widespread economic development meant the departure of Celtic and Rhaetian peoples, though the area was taken over by the Germanic tribe of the Alemannians after 400ad, when the colonisers had left. Subsequent landmark rulers were the Habsburgs, from 1360.
Lake Constance is both fed and drained by the mighty Rhine River (Rhein), which originates in two separate head streams high in the Swiss Alps. Gathering force as it descends, the Rhine enters the southeastern end of the lake a short distance west of Bregenz, where colossal flood-prevention levees and reinforced parallel riverbeds regulate its flow. Widespread flooding with devastating results is now a thing of the past, thanks to massive works dating back 100 years. The Rhine leaves the lake at Constance and briefly flows west to the Swiss town of Basel, to then head north through Germany’s industrial heartland and finally empty into the North Sea, after a total length of 1390km (860 miles).

After Bregenz the E5 goes inland to enter the thickly wooded, undulating, medium-altitude Breganzer Wald. Adjacent are the Allgäuer Alps, centring on the Iller river valley. This is the southernmost district of Germany, known as Swabia, and home to a peculiar Bavarian dialect that is utterly incomprehensible to outsiders. The region is characterised by gravel terraces left by long-gone glaciers, and ample fertile terrain that has helped make it the foremost dairy producer in Germany.

This section of the trek is excellent preparation for greater things to come, and come they do, in the shape of Austria’s Ötztaler Alps, a region of awe-inspiring white-capped peaks and sprawling glaciers, the result of guaranteed winter snowfalls. The warmth of springtime inevitably causes the snow to melt, and if the meltwater is swollen by rainfall, this creates difficulties for valley communities. Because flood damage was such a problem, flood-data collection first began here in the late 17th century, but according to archive documents, dams and barriers were erected as early as the 1300s, with the purpose of protecting settlements and precious woods from destruction by ‘wild mountain torrents’.

Next on the route is a landmark of great interest and key geographical significance – Timmelsjoch, on the Austrian–Italian border, is a major European watershed. On the E5 up until now, the rivers encountered – the Rhine for a start – drained from south to north, ending up in the North Sea. Other significant examples are the Iller and Inn, which head east, joining the Danube on its way to the Black Sea. Timmelsjoch marks a radical change in direction – the watercourses on the Italian side flow south to join the River Adige, which drains into the Adriatic below Venice.

After Timmelsjoch, although the language is still German, and traditional Alpine farming persists, the E5 moves into the South Tyrol, which became part of Italy in the aftermath of the First World War. Very soon after the end of the war the fascists took power in Italy, and in an effort to Italianise the region, Rome gave the inhabitants the agonising choice of either shifting, lock, stock and barrel, to allied neighbouring Austria, or changing their names. Furthermore, ‘immigrants’ from other parts of Italy were encouraged to ‘colonise’ the area, and schooling in Italian became compulsory. Curiously enough, today (South Tyrol is now an automous region where 70% are German-speakers) it is the old farming folk, educated under Mussolini’s system, who speak better Italian than the young people, who attend segregated German- or Italian-language schools.

Beautiful green valleys characterise the South Tyrol section, then the E5 descends to the historic city of Bozen (marking the end of Part One of the walk as described in this book). This is home to the Ice Man, a Copper Age hunter discovered in a mummified state on a high pass in 1991.

The scenery changes dramatically for the first stage of Part Two, a lengthy ‘stroll’ parallel to the main Adige river valley. This river, like the Rhine, has overflowed its banks for centuries, the earliest on record being in 369ad and the latest in 1981. One incident directly involved 16th-century German artist Albrecht Dürer, who was forced to modify his route to Venice.

At slightly lower altitudes the E5 then drops in on a succession of highlights, such as a well-visited sanctuary, then a deep ravine, and the geological wonder Butterloch, all worth looking forward to.

The latter part of the route explores the Trentino region and part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. The First World War (also known as the Guerra Bianca  –‘White War’ – because it took place in mountainous regions) has left many reminders of the tragic struggles and hardships experienced by troops and locals alike in Trentino. Significant locations on the E5 are the Lagorai mountains, the Folgaria–Lavarone Altopiano and the infamous Pasubio massif.

Strings of imposing wartime constructions, such as forts, are encountered on desolate ridges, as both Austrian and Italian military engineers excelled in this kind of extraordinary building. Lines of barbed wire and trenches still snake their way across landscapes pitted with craters and rubble, the result of incessant mortar fire. Networks of strategic supply tunnels and shelters gouged out of solid rock give an idea of the living conditions of the soldiers. Then there are the bare crosses and graves. Nobel prize-winning novelist Ernest Hemingway spent time in 1918 as a volunteer ambulance driver with the American Red Cross on the Pasubio, a landmark experience that inspired him to write the anti-war classic A Farewell to Arms. A visit to the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra (www.museodellaguerra.it), housed in a monumental castle at Rovereto, is highly recommended.

The Trentino region also has several curious linguistic pockets. In the 11th century, many Germans migrated south to work in the multitude of mines that were opening up in sparsely populated places across the foothills of the Italian Alps, and in one valley their descendents still speak a version of the original language – Mocheno (see www.bersntol.it). Cimbro is also relatively widespread, and there are several explanations for the origin of its name. It could come from the Kimbri people of North Jutland, in Denmark, going all the way back to 200ad, although the more widely accepted version relates to lower Bavaria. Lumberjacks and woodsmen were known as Zimberer (similar to the modern German Zimmerman for ‘carpenter’), hence Zimbri, Cimbri.

The E5’s final southern leg passes through thriving farming communities in the rolling Monti Lessini. Because of its wealth of extraordinary fossils, a legacy of its ancient marine past, Monti Lessini is a protected parco regionale (www.lessiniapark.it).
The trek finally wanders through vineyards to conclude in beautiful Verona, romantic city par excellence.