Sunset at Skyspace Lech

With Skyspace-Lech, the US-American artist James Turrell created a place that combines perception, light, and landscape in a singular way. High above Lech, at 1,780 metres above sea level in Oberlech, a walk-in light space emerges that allows the view of sky and surroundings to be experienced afresh.

Turrell counts among the most significant contemporary artists in the field of light art. His work has, for decades, engaged with the question of how light, colour, and space influence perception. The Skyspace-Lech, opened in 2018, belongs to his most spectacular European installations.

The largely underground structure integrates sensitively into the alpine landscape. A 15-metre tunnel leads into the main room with its surrounding bench and an open aperture in the ceiling to the sky. Especially at sunrise and sunset, an almost meditative atmosphere emerges: through shifting light moods and deliberate colour compositions, the sky itself appears to change and become part of the space.

„We are not aware that we ourselves give the sky its colour. We think everything is given, yet we play an active part in creating the reality in which we live.“ — James Turrell

The particular location above Oberlech also opens striking sight lines between the Omeshorn, Biberkopf, and the alpine landscape of the Arlberg.

Programme & notes

• Joint transfer by taxi bus from the Lechwelten to Oberlech
• Walk of approximately 10–15 minutes from Plateau Schlössle in Oberlech
• Good shoes and warm clothing recommended
• Sunrise or sunset tour of the Skyspace-Lech (approx. 45 minutes)
• Return walk or transfer back to Lech
• Total duration approximately 90 minutes
• The Skyspace-Lech is open year-round. The full light-art experience by James Turrell can take place only in suitable weather conditions and at sunrise or sunset times.
• The light programme lasts approximately 45 minutes and is timed to the respective sunrise or sunset.