The Swiss-Austrian border follows the historical bed of the Rhine, but today the river follows an artificial canal within Austria for the final 5 kilometres (3.1 mi),[2] parallel to the also canalised Dornbirner Ach.

Downstream of Vaduz, the valley widens considerably, developing into a broad plain, measuring some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) across at its lower end along the southeastern shores of Upper Lake Constance.

Right tributaries of the Alpine Rhine are the Plessur in Chur, the Landquart in the town of the same name, the Ill and Frutz on the Upper Land of the Austrian plain near Feldkirch.

The Alpine Rhine has no major left tributaries; creeks joining it from the left are the Oldisbach at Chur, Cosenz at Untervaz, Säge at Tardisbrücke, Tamina at Bad Ragaz, Saar at Trübbach, Tobelbach at Buchs, Simml at Gams.

Geographical parts of the Alpine Rhine Valley are: Upper half: Lower half: The Alpine Rhine begins in the centre of the Swiss canton of Grisons (Graubünden), and later forms the border between Switzerland to the west and Liechtenstein to the east, and later between Switzerland and Austria.

Main left tributaries, all located in Switzerland, are the Tamina (in Bad Ragaz) and the Saar (in Trübbach).

The natural Rhine originally branched into at least two arms and formed small islands by precipitating sediments.

From a regional perspective, there are many platforms, events and projects that enhance the cultural life of the inhabitants and the local actors.

[4] In Widnau, the only international artistic gymnastics tournament for male juniors and seniors in Switzerland takes place.

Visible signs of this cooperation of the four institutions from three countries are the joint presentations on the "ART BODENSEE" each year.

Nevertheless, Appenzell was forced to cede the governing protectorship of the Valley to the warring powers—the Abbey and the four cantons of Glarus, Lucerne, Schwyz and Zürich—bringing the bailiwick into the ambit of the Old Swiss Confederation as a Gemeine Herrschaft (condominium).

Through the defeat of the Catholic hegemony over Switzerland and the end of the lengthy religious disputes that had riven the Confederacy, the 11 August 1712 Peace of Aarau (German: Frieden von Aarau) established confessional parity, allowing both faiths to coexist in legal equality—a concept relatively common to the Holy Roman Empire since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

The Liechtenstein dynasty was able to arrange the purchase of the minuscule Herrschaft ("Lordship") of Schellenberg and county of Vaduz (in 1699 and 1712 respectively) from the Hohenems.

On 23 January 1719, after the lands had been purchased, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, decreed that Vaduz and Schellenberg were united and elevated the newly formed territory to the dignity of Fürstentum (principality) with the name "Liechtenstein" in honour of "[his] true servant, Anton Florian of Liechtenstein".

It is a testament to the pure political expediency of the purchases that the Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for over 120 years.

Within weeks, however, this nascent independence was quashed with the inclusion of the Rheintal into the Helvetic canton of Säntis, with the exception of Rüthi and Lienz, assigned to Linth.