Vorarlberg

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**Vorarlberg**

State	AT-8 (ISO)
Capital	Bregenz
Governor	Herbert Sausgruber (ÖVP)
Area - Total	Ranked 8th 2,601 km²
Population - Total (2001) - Density	Ranked 8th 372,791 143/km²
The state flag of Vorarlberg
The state of Vorarlberg on the map of Austria

Vorarlberg is the westernmost state (Land) of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area (Vienna is the smallest), it borders three countries:

as well as the Austrian state of Tyrol. Due to their isolated location from the rest of Austria, the people in Vorarlberg speak a very distinct German dialect which other Austrians have a hard time understanding. It is in some way similar to the German dialects spoken in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Baden-Württemberg and the Alsace region in France (they are all Alemannic dialects, whereas the dialects in the rest of Austria form part of the Bavarian-Austrian language group). In fact many towns or even villages in Voralberg have their own distinct sub-dialects.

In a referendum held in Vorarlberg on 11 May 1919 over 80% of those voting supported a proposal that the state should join the Swiss Confederation. However, this was prevented by the opposition of the Austrian Government, the Allies, Swiss liberals, the Swiss-Italians and the Swiss-French.^[1] There are approximately 352,000 inhabitants in Vorarlberg's 96 municipalities.

Districts of Vorarlberg. Clockwise from north: Bregenz, Bludenz, Feldkirch, Dornbirn

Vorarlberg is divided into four large districts, from north to south: Bregenz, Dornbirn, Feldkirch and Bludenz. These districts appear on the automobile license plates in the form of abbreviations: B, DO, FK and BZ.

The capital of Vorarlberg is

Bregenz, which also is one of the five cities.

The other four are:

The main rivers in Vorarlberg are the Ill (running through the Montafon and Walgau valleys into the Rhine), the Rhine (forming the border to Switzerland), the Bregenzer Ach and the Dornbirner Ach. Important lakes, other than the Lake of Constance are Lüner Lake, Silvretta Lake, Vermunt Lake, Spuller Lake, the Kops Basin and Formarin Lake; the first four were created for the production of hydroelectric energy. Even before the dam for the power plant was built, Lüner Lake was the largest mountain lake in the Alps. Most of this hydroelectric energy is exported to Germany at peak times. At night the surplus (and therefore cheap) energy from the caloric power plants in Germany is used to pump the water back into some of the lakes.

As there are several notable mountain ranges in Vorarlberg, such as the Silvretta, the Rätikon, the Verwall and the Arlberg, there are many famous skiing regions. The highest mountain is Piz Buin, whose rocky peak of 3,312 meters is surrounded by glaciers.

In addition to the flourishing textile, clothing, electronics, machinery, packing materials industries of the Rhine Valley, there is also a broad agricultural base, especially in the Bregenzerwald, which is noted for its dairy products ("Bregenzerwälder Cheese Route" and tourism. The tourist industry employs a considerable number of Vorarlbergers. The greatest tourist attractions are the mountains and the numerous ski resorts, the largest (and most famous) of which are: