Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with th ...

, the westernmost

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...

, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, between

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in the west and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in the northwest. Bregenz is located on a plateau falling in a series of terraces to the lake at the foot of Pfänder mountain. It is a junction of the arterial roads from the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

valley to the German Alpine foothills, with cruise ship services on Lake Constance. It is famous for the annual summer music festival '' Bregenzer Festspiele'', as well as the dance festival ''Bregenzer Spring''.

History

The first settlements date from 1500 BC. The Brigantii are mentioned by Strabo as a Celtic sub-tribe in this region of the Alps. In the 5th century BC, the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

settled at Brigantion, which became one of their most heavily fortified locations. After a series of battles in 15 BC, the Romans conquered Brigantion and the city became a Roman camp. It was conferred the status of a municipality (Brigantium) around 50 AD and was the seat of the Roman admiralty for Lake Constance. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

, Germanic peoples who settled in the area in around 450. From 610 to 612

Saint Columbanus Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in p ...

and Saint Gall worked as missionaries in Bregenz. From 917 onwards the castle served as a residence of the Udalrichinger (ruling dynasty of Vorarlberg), who called themselves Counts of Bregenz. The house died out around 1150. The son of the first Ulrich was

Saint Gebhard Gebhard of Constance ( la, Gebhardus Constantiensis; german: Gebhard von Konstanz; 949 995 AD) was a bishop of Constance from 979 until 995. He founded the Benedictine abbey of Petershausen Petershausen is a municipality in the district of Da ...

, born in 947. He became the Bishop of Konstanz. In around 1170 Hugo of Tübingen (Montfort) founded a town settlement (first documented in 1249), enlarged it in the 13th and 14th centuries and from 1650 to 1652. The city was sold in 1451, and again in 1523, to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s and continued under Austrian rule, with a brief occupation by Swedish forces under Carl Gustaf Wrangel during the 30 Years' War, until the 19th century. Bregenz was under

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

n rule from 1805 to 1814. From 1842 to 1850, the harbour on

was built, then enlarged in 1883 and from 1889 to 1891, and Austrian ship service was inaugurated in 1884. Railway services have existed since 1872, and since 1884 across the Arlberg massif. Since 1726, Bregenz has been the main seat of Austrian administration in

(''Obervogtei'', in 1786 ''Kreisamt'', since 1861 seat of the Landtag, since 1918 seat of the

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and T ...

). Rieden-Vorkloster and Fluh were incorporated into Bregenz in 1919 and 1946, respectively. The town was bombed by the Allies in 1945, and 72 houses were destroyed.

Population

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220px, Ancient city wall, upper town. 220px, Kunsthaus Bregenz 220px, Vorarlberg museum

Main sights

Upper town

*Remains from the 13th and 16th centuries *Town walls *Old town hall (1662) *Martinsturm (Martin's Tower). Originally built by the Romans, it has a chapel with frescoes dating from 1362. Between 1599 and 1601 an additional storey was added. It has the largest bulb-shaped Baroque steeple in Central Europe, and houses the Museum of Military History. *Gothic parish church of St Gall: its Romanesque foundations date from before 1380, but it was rebuilt around 1480. Around 1737 it was converted to a Baroque style. *Herz-Jesu parish church (1905–1908).

Lower town

*Town hall, built in 1686 (façade from 1898) *Gothic Seekapelle (Lake Chapel) *Landhaus (built from 1973 to 1982 by W. Holzbauer) *Former Kornhausmarkt (built 1838 to 1940, altered 1951 to 1955); it now houses a theatre. *Protestant church of the Sacred Cross (1862–1864) *Church of St Kolumban (1962–1966) *Kunsthaus Bregenz (1991–1997) (modern art museum) *Tourismushaus (tourist centre) (1994–1998). Sights in the district of Vorkloster include the Maria Hilf parish church (1925–1931, by C. Holzmeister, interior from 1980) and the Cistercian monastery of

Mehrerau Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the C ...

. On the Gebhardsberg rock are remains of the fortress of Hohenbregenz (destroyed by the Swedes in 1647).

Businesses and services

Government

Bregenz is the seat of the Vorarlberg State Assembly (

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...

), and of most of the provincial authorities/institutions of Vorarlberg (e.g. school superintendent, police headquarters, department of human resources development (AMS), Office for Environmental Protection, Chamber of Labour, Economics Chamber, Chamber of Agriculture, Chamber of Pharmacists, military regional headquarters, military garrison, one of the main hospitals of the province (Landeskrankenhaus), as well as a sanatorium, farmers' health and social insurance office, VLV (Mutual Fire Insurance Institute).

Consulates

A consulate-general of Turkey, and honorary consulates of Belarus, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland are located in Bregenz. Honorary consulates of Finland and the United Kingdom are located in nearby Lauterach, and an honorary consulate of Brazil in nearby Hard.

Schools and the arts

Bregenz is home to four Gymnasium secondary schools, a commercial college (HAK), a technical college (HTL), upper secondary business schools (Höhere Lehranstalt für wirtschaftliche Berufe), three Berufsschulen (vocational schools), crafts colleges, the Academy of Social Sciences, and a nursing school. Others include: an adult education centre, school boarding houses, state archives, a state library, a state museum, Kunsthaus Bregenz (modern arts centre), Künstlerhaus (art centre), Thurn und Taxis Palace, five monasteries, Heimatwerk (autonomous institution fostering the manufacturing of traditional craft products), and various newspapers.

Public facilities

Festival and Congress centre, Theater am Kornmarkt, casino, harbour for sailing boats and yachts, cable car up onto the Pfänder mountain.

Economy

The economy is mainly dominated by small businesses in the services, trade and industry sectors: these include the textile industry ( Wolford AG), fittings manufacturer Julius Blum GmbH, glass processing and machine construction. Bi-seasonal tourism is important; a major attraction is the Bregenz Festival (since 1946, floating stage since 1949, modernised in 1979, Festival and Congress Hall in 1980), winter sports on the Pfänder mountain.

Culture

Bregenzer Festspiele

The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is world-famous, taking place in July and August each year on and around a stage on

. This festival attracts more than 150,000 people every year to Bregenz (2011: 166,453, 2016: 159,172) and has a budget of around EUR 20 million. The program changes every two years. In addition to playing on the lake stage, orchestral concerts and operas also take place in the adjacent festival theatre. There is also a children's and youth program during and before the beginning of the festival. The lake stage (''Seebühne'') is the largest open-air lake stage theatre in the world, with an audience capacity of around 7,000.

Bregenz Jazz Festival

Since 2014, the Bregenz Jazz Festival has been held every year in June at the Kornmarktplatz. It is the successor of the ''New Orleans Festival'', which took place from 1999 to 2013, during the early summer, in the inner city of Bregenz, and which was no longer supported by the initiator Markus Linder. In addition to the change of name, there was also a musical genre change from blues to jazz. The location and the timing stayed roughly the same.

Bregenzer Frühling

Since 1987, Bregenzer Spring, a dance festival, has been held every year between March and June in the Festival Hall of Bregenz (Festspielhaus). Dance ensembles from all over the world perform their new productions, along with Austrian premieres. With a budget of around EUR 500,000 and up to 10,000 visitors, Bregenzer Spring is one of the most important dance festivals in Austria.

Others

* In 2013/2019 a

Roman Theatre Roman theatres derive from and are part of the overall evolution of earlier Greek theatres. Indeed, much of the architectural influence the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However ...

was excavated in Bregenz. * The Galgenbihl (gallow hill) is almost forgotten.

Climate

Sport

* A1 Bregenz HB is a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

team. * SC Bregenz is the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team of the town, competing in the Austrian Regional League (Third Division).

Notable people

Public service & commerce

* Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1559 in Lochau – 1617), Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, 1587/1612 * Josef Fessler (1813 in Lochau – 1872), Roman Catholic Bishop of Sankt Pölten * Victor von Ebner (1842 in Bregenz – 1925), Austrian

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and histologist *

Johann Georg Hagen Johann (John) Georg Hagen (March 6, 1847 – September 6, 1930) was an Austrian Jesuit priest and astronomer. After serving as Director of the Georgetown University Observatory he was called to Rome by Pope Pius X in 1906 to be the first Jes ...

(1847–1930), Jesuit priest and astronomer * Jodok Fink (1853 in Andelsbuch – 1929), Austrian farmer and politician, first

Vice-Chancellor of Austria The vice-chancellor of Austria is a member of the Government of Austria and is the deputy to the Chancellor. It is functionally equivalent to a deputy prime minister in other countries with parliamentary systems. Description of the office Art. 6 ...

, from 1919 to 1920 *

Valentin Feurstein Valentin Feurstein (1 January 1885 – 8 June 1970) was an Austrian military officer who served in the Austrian and German armies. Feurstein joined the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1907, he served in World War I and in the Austrian Bundesheer in t ...

(1885–1970), Austrian general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

during World War II. * Lorenz Bohler (1885 in Wolfurt – 1973), surgeon, an innovator of accident surgery, Nazi *

Irmfried Eberl Irmfried Eberl (8 September 1910 – 16 February 1948) was an Austrian psychiatrist and medical director of the euthanasia institutes in Brandenburg and Bernburg, who helped set up and was the first commandant of the Treblinka extermination camp ...

(1910–1948), psychiatrist and commander of

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...

Hermann Gmeiner Hermann Gmeiner (23 June 1919 – 26 April 1986) was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's Villages. Life Born to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg (present-day Austria), Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholar ...

(1919 – 1986),

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and founder of SOS Children's Villages * Fritz Mayer, (German Wiki) (1933–1988), politician, mayor of Bregenz, 1970 to 1988 * Herbert Sausgruber (born 1946 in Bregenz), governor of

, 1997-2011 *

İlber Ortaylı İlber Ortaylı (born 21 May 1947) is a Turkish historian and professor of history of Crimean Tatar origin at the MEF University, Galatasaray University in Istanbul and at Bilkent University in Ankara. In 2005, he was appointed as the director ...

(born 1947 in Bregenz), Turkish historian and professor of history * Günter Bischof (born 1953 in Mellau), Austrian-American historian and university professor *

Ernst Fehr Ernst Fehr (born 21 June 1956 in Hard, Austria) is an Austrian-Swiss behavioral economist and neuroeconomist and a Professor of Microeconomics and Experimental Economic Research, as well as the vice chairman of the Department of Economics at the ...

(born 1956 in Hard) Austrian behavioral economist and neuroeconomist *

Anton Amann Anton Amann (20 June 1956 – 6 January 2015) was an Austrian chemist and Professor of chemistry at the Innsbruck Medical University. He worked in the area of physical chemistry, ECG analysis, and exhaled breath analysis. Amann was the ...

(1956 in Bregenz – 2015), Austrian chemist and professor of chemistry at the

Innsbruck Medical University The Medical University of Innsbruck (german: Medizinische Universität Innsbruck) is a university in Innsbruck, Austria. It used to be one of the four historical faculties of the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck and became an independent un ...

Hans-Peter Martin Hans-Peter Martin (born 11 August 1957) is an Austrian author and journalist and former politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014. Journalist and author Born in Bregenz, Austria, Martin graduated from the ...

(born 1957), journalist and politician,

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

The Arts

* Johann Conrad Dorner (1810 in Egg – 1866), Austrian painter * Kaspar Albrecht (1889 in Au – 1970), architect and sculptor *

Karl Michael Vogler Karl Michael Vogler (28 August 1928 – 9 June 2009) was a German actor, probably best known for his appearances in several big-budget English language films. In '' The Blue Max'' (1966), he co-starred with George Peppard and Ursula Andress as ...

(1928–2009), actor, raised in Bregenz * Sieghardt Rupp (1931–2015), actor *

Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk H ...

(born 1961), writer of novels and poetry * Stefan Sagmeister (born 1962),

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

* Markus Gasser (born 1967), literary scientist and author * Arno Geiger (born 1968 in Wolfurt), Austrian novelist * Roman Rafreider (born 1969 in Bregenz), Austrian television host and journalist *

Christof Unterberger Christof Unterberger (born October 28, 1970) is an Austrian cellist and film composer. Biography Unterberger was born in Bregenz, Austria. He received his first cello training at the Conservatory of Graz and later at the Higher School of Music i ...

(born 1970),

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

and film composer * Maria Anwander (born 1980), conceptual artist, performance and installation art * Lukas Birk (born 1982), photographer * Jakob Kasimir Hellrigl (born 1993), known as '' Candy Ken'', rapper * Egon Huber (1905-1960), designer, ceramicist, sculptor, and installation artist

Sport

Max Sick Max Sick (28 June 1882 – 10 May 1961) was a German strongman and gymnast who performed as Maxick. With Monte Saldo, he developed the Maxalding system of bodybuilding through muscle control. Early life Born in Bregenz in Austria in 1882 to ...

(Maxick) (1882–1961), German strongman and gymnast * Patrick Ortlieb (born 1967), former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist * Aleksandar Đorđević (born 1981), an Austrian footballer with over 300 club caps

Twin towns

Bregenz is twinned with: * Bangor,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

– various exchange trips take place between the two places. *

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

References

External links

* * http://www.bregenz.at Official site (in German) * http://www.pfaender.at Official site (German/English/Italiano/Français) of the Pfänder Mountain * http://www.pfaenderbahn.at (in German) * http://www.scbregenz.at Official site (in German) of local Football Club
Bregenzer Festspiele/ Bregenze Festival website

{{Authority control Austrian state capitals Cities and towns in Bregenz District Populated places on Lake Constance Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC 2nd-millennium BC establishments Vorarlberg