An ancient cultural area, populated by about 14 million people, means in its change a challenge to deal with aspects and developments of the alpine region. In the course of history, people have profoundly changed the landscape ecologically, influenced it culturally and developed it socio-economically in order to secure their livelihood. Interdisciplinarity is the hallmark of a thematic examination of cultural geography, political education, folklore and cultural studies. Increasingly, the Alpine region is gaining importance as a recreational area for tourism.