A paved road to Flexen Pass in the Austrian Alps

# Flexen Pass: A Historic Alpine Adventure

Ready for a thrilling mountain drive? Flexen Pass sits pretty at 1,781 meters (5,843 feet) high in Vorarlberg, Austria, and it's one seriously cool route with some serious history behind it.

This pass has been around for centuries, but the real story starts in 1895 when Johann Bertolini and his crew began carving out the modern road. After fourteen years of hard work, it finally opened to traffic in 1909. Since 1936, the Flexenstrasse has been keeping things moving year-round—yep, even when winter throws a tantrum.

The 15.6-kilometer (9.69-mile) route runs north-south from Warth down to Stuben am Arlberg, and it's completely paved as Road 198, also called the Lechtal Strasse. Fair warning though: this isn't a leisurely cruise. The road gets seriously steep, with grades hitting up to 10% on some sections that'll definitely test your nerves and your brakes.

Here's where it gets really interesting—about 300 meters before the summit, the road vanishes into the Flexengalerie, an absolutely ancient 1,550-meter-long avalanche tunnel that's basically held together with old oak wood beams. Inside, it's rough and tumble, with single-lane traffic managed by a traffic light system. It's genuinely wild.

The summit itself has a parking lot and the quirky Restaurant Flexenhäusl if you need a breather. Most drivers take 25 to 30 minutes to cover the whole pass. You can usually drive it year-round, though winter weather can kick in sudden closures. It's an unforgettable Alpine experience.