Migration has long shaped life in the regions comprising Tyrol, Graubünden and Vorarlberg. Children from poor farming families find work in Swabia, adults travel around as craftspeople or pedlars, while thousands seek their fortune overseas.
In the second half of the 19th century, a new era dawns. Better roads over the mountain passes connect remote villages with the rest of the world; goods and news can now reach the valleys several times a day. In 1867 the first train crosses the Brenner Pass: in 1884 the railway is extended to the Arlberg then, in 1904, to St. Moritz. Distances are shortened, journeys become more comfortable and new migratory movements arise.