Mellau is a town in the

Bregenz Forest The Bregenz Forest (german: Bregenzerwald, ) is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specif ...

in the westernmost

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 ...

n state 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 the ...

, part of the district of

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Swit ...

Geography

Mellau covers an area of 40.55 km². Mellau lies at the foot of the Kanisfluh mountain which is considered to be the Bregenz Forest's landmark.

History

From 1805 to 1814 Mellau belonged to

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 ...

but then reverted to Austria. In 1870 there was a great fire in Mellau: The church, the school, the rectory and 18 other houses were razed. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, from 1945 to 1955 the town was in the French zone of occupation.

Population

The municipality has about 1300 inhabitants.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was designed by the artist Hubert Dietrich in 1962. It shows an uprooted

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to ...

tree, which symbolises the affiliation to the Bregenz Forest, and three crosses, which are a remembrance of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

Tourism

Thanks to the merging of the two ski areas Damüls and Mellau in 2010, the largest ski area in the Bregenz Forest and one of the largest ski regions in the state of Vorarlberg was created: The ski resort area Damüls-Mellau. In the summer and autumn of 2015, the Mellau cable car was rebuilt in the form of a monocable. Bregenzerwald Umgang This "Bregenz Forest Walking Tour" offers insights into the architecture and community planning of 12 traditional villages in the Bregenzerwald. While walking over various landscapes, visiting public buildings, homes and everyday objects, walkers gain a comprehensive overview of typical Bregenzerwald architectural styles as they developed throughout the ages.

Trivia

In Austria, Mellau is known for the song "Vo Mello bis ge Schoppornou" ( Alemannic for "From Mellau to Schoppernau") by the Bregenz Forest band Holstuonarmusigbigbandclub.

Notable people

Norbert Bischofberger Dr. Norbert Bischofberger (born 10 January 1956 in Mellau, Austria) is an Austrian scientist and one of the inventors of the antiviral drug Tamiflu generically known as oseltamivir, which is, as of 2009, the only oral medication on the market to ...

(born 1954), scientist, co-developer of the influenza vaccination

Tamiflu Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complications or are at hig ...

. * Hubert Dietrich (1930-2006), painter and painting restorer. * Hermann Rützler (1883-1960), photographer and author.

References

External links

Mellau HomepageBregenzerwald Umgang Mellau
Bregenz Forest Mountains Cities and towns in Bregenz District {{Vorarlberg-geo-stub