The municipal district of Lech covers an area of 90 square kilometres and has a population of around 1,300. It is located on a plateau, with elevations ranging from 1,444 to 1,717 m, near the headwaters of the Lech river. The Lech Valley Alps provide an imposing backdrop to the scenery of this characteristic mountain pass, from which a number of side valleys branch off. The elevation, however, makes crop and fruit farming impossible in Lech. Until the advent of the tourist industry, which was facilitated by the construction the Flexenroad in the years 1895 - 1900, the region's mountain farmers were entirely dependent upon cattle breeding and dairy farming. In the winter month, Lech was frequently cut off from the outside world - the route only to the village consisted of cart tracks and foot path which were regularly blocked by avalanches. The first documentary reference to the name Lech, designating the village's river, can be traced to the year 642 AD, where it occurs in the form "Licca". The discovery of a double-headed axe from the Middle Bronze Age suggests that the region had been settled, or at least traversed, far earlier. The survival of a number of Rhaeto-Romanic field names, such as "Flexen", "Gampa", "Zürs", "Pazüel" and "Munzabon", provides evidence that the area was used as pasture and hunting grounds in early historical times. In 1059 AD, Emperor Henry IV bestowed a large hunting ground near the Widderstein upon the Bishop of Augsburg, the area remaining in ecclesiastical possession until 1814.

However, the first permanent settlers of the coutryside surrounding the higher areas of Lech undoubtedly came from the Valais region of western Switzerland. They immigrated to their new home before 1300 and cleared the valley floor of trees. Because of the predominance of fir trees, "Tanne" in German, these settlers named the district "Tannberg am Lech". Over the centuries, this designation was shortened to it's presentday form, "Lech". The Walser settlers were granted rights of feudal tenure over the land in return for a modest rent-inkind. To entice the Walser into settling in this infertile stretch of mountain territory, special rights and privileges were allowed, such as having their own court of law, housed in the "White House" opposite the Hotel Krone. Together with the Parish Church, this house is Lech's oldest surviving building and today serves as private living quarters. The jurisdiction of the Walser court originally extended to the adjacent districts of Schröcken, Hochkrumbach, Warth and Kleines Walser Valley. The court was dissolved in 1806 when, during the Napoleonic Wars, Tyrol and Vorarlberg were ceded to the Bavarian throne until 1814. As early as 1453, however, tho court had been wrested from the Swabian feudal court by Duke Sigismund of Austria. In the 16th and 18th century, a fair amount of lead ore mining was carried out in the lower section of today's Madloch ski run. In 1547 and again in 1635, the plague struck Lech, severely depleting the population. An outbreak of smallpox in 1882, during the construction of the Arlberg Tunnel also took many lives in Lech. Because of it's remoteness, however, the area hs been fortunate in escaping the immediate ravages of war, although the burden of enforced requisitioning during the Napoleonic Wars led to wide-spread impoverishment and a further depletion of the population through emigration. The memorial at the entrance to the old church is dedicated to the many residents of Lech who died in the two world wars.

The advent of skiing as a popular sport brought with it the prospect of economic prosperity. As early as 1906, Viktor Sohm organized the first instruction course for local skiers in Zürs. Early enthusiasts of the sport from the Lake Constance area discovered the Arlberg and Flexen Pass as perfect winter sport regions. In the 1920's, Zürs in particular experienced a rapid boom, and transformed the Alpine village into an international skiing resort. The first group ski courses for visitors began here as early as 1923/24, and Austria's first T-bar lift opended in Zürs in 1937. Lech was soon take advantage of this economic upsurge. Although the depression of the 1930's and the Second World War were temporary setbacks, by 1949 visitors from Austria and abroad flocked once again to Lech, producing an unprecedented economic expansion. In turn, this financial boost led to the village's rapid growth. Lech's fame in the international sporting world is due, as well, to the many top sportsmen and sportswomen it has produced. These victors of Olympic Games and World Championships are comemorated on a memorial plaque in the new Council Offices.