Mittelberg Kleinwalsertal webcam AXIS

Kleinwalsertal (little Walser valley) is a part of Austria, but only accessible from the North, from Germany (Oberstdorf), thus its an Austrian "practical exclave" or "pene-exclave". It used to have special tax free status which became obsolete when Austria acceded to the EU.

It is a commune of the state Vorarlberg which is the most western state of Austria. It consists of three villages which are situated along the River Breitach: Mittelberg, Hirschegg, and Riezlern.

The valley is famous in Central Europe as a ski and hiking resort. The 5,000 inhabitants which are called "Walser" provide 12,000 beds for tourists.

Mittelberg is a municipality in the district of Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria. The municipality of Mittelberg is congruent with the Kleinwalsertal, a valley that is only accessible by road from Germany. Although it is not an exclave in strict sense (it is contiguous with the rest of Austria), its geographic position created a special situation. For instance, it has both Austrian and German postal codes. Since 1891 Kleinwalsertal enjoyed a customs union with Germany, a free border, and used the Deutsche Mark. Since Austria joined the European Union in 1995, the signing of the Schengen Agreement (1997) and the introduction of the Euro (2002), this special status no longer applies.