Riefensberg is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the westernmost

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, 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 second-highest popu ...

. The community of Riefensberg covers an area of 14.85 square kilometers. Riefensberg is located within the

Nagelfluhkette The Nagelfluhkette is a mountain range located in Bavaria, Germany and Vorarlberg, Austria, bordering on the northern edge of the Allgäu Alps. It has a maximum altitude of 1,834 m above sea level. Its name derives from the rock type Nagelfluh. ...

Nature Park.

Population

History

The town of Riefensberg ("rivinsperc") was mentioned for the first time in 1249, in a document by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

Culture

The St. Leonhard parish church was built in 1426, enlarged between 1818 and 1821, and renovated from 1969 to 1971. The St. Anna chapel was built in the 18th century and is rich in Baroque statues. In 2010, a roughly 300-year-old millstone of the Auer Mill was found. Riefensberg had several mills from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The grinding stone is exhibited on a walking route. In the Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg, traditional Bregenz Forest costumes are still dyed and sewn. The typical "Bregenzerwälder Juppe" is not sold "ready-made" in shops, but can only be custom-made in the Juppenwerkstatt. Nowadays, many Bregenzerwälder women wear the Juppe at weddings and in church on Sundays.

External links

Website of the municipality

Website of the Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg

References

Cities and towns in Bregenz District {{Vorarlberg-geo-stub