Bregenz

Bregenz
Bregenz
Country Austria
State Vorarlberg
District Bregenz
Mayor Markus Linhart (ÖVP)
Area 29.51 km2 (11 sq mi)
Elevation 427 m  (1401 ft)
Population 27,950 (1 January 2011)[1]
 - Density 947 /km2 (2,453 /sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate B
Postal code 6900
Area code 05574
Website www.bregenz.at

Bregenz is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria. The city is located on the eastern shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the west and Germany in the northwest.

The city is situated 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 valley to the German Alpine foothills, with cruise ship services on Lake Constance.

Bregenz is twinned with Bangor in Northern Ireland, and various exchange trips take place between the two places. Another twin town is Acre in Israel.

It is especially famous for the annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele.

Contents

History

The first settlements date from 1500 BC. Celtic tribe named Brigantii is mentioned by Strabo as a sub-tribe in these region of the Alps [2]. In the 5th century BC, the Celts settled at Brigantion, which was one of their most heavily fortified locations. After 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 AD 50 and was the seat of the Roman admiralty for Lake Constance. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the Alemanni, a Germanic people who settled in the area in around 450.

From 610 to 612 St. Columbanus and Saint Gall worked as missionaries in Bregenz. From 917 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, born in 947. He became Bishop of Konstanz and was later known as the patron of the pregnant women. In around 1170 Hugo of Tübingen (Montfort) founded a town settlement (first documented mention in 1249), enlarged in the 13th and 14th century and from 1650 to 1652[3].

The city was sold in 1451 and in 1523 to the Habsburgs 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 Bavarian rule from 1805 to 1814. From 1842 to 1850, the harbour on Lake Constance was built. In 1883 and from 1889–1891 the harbour was enlarged, and Austrian ship service was set up in 1884. Rail communication has existed since 1872 and since 1884 across the Arlberg massif. Since then, the town has extended to the surrounding countryside. Since 1726, Bregenz has been the main seat of Austrian administration in Vorarlberg (Obervogtei, in 1786 Kreisamt, since 1861 seat of the Landtag, since 1918 seat of the Landeshauptmann). Rieden-Vorkloster and Fluh were incorporated into Bregenz in 1919 and in 1946, respectively. The town was bombarded in 1945, and 72 houses were destroyed.

Sights

Landmarks buildings of Bregenz include Martins Tower, St. Gallus Church, the Art House, the Post Office Building, and the Lake Promenade. A well known meeting point for local philosophers, politicians, writers and musicians.

Upper town: (oldest part, remains from the 13th and 16th centuries, town walls still standing), old town hall (1662); the Martinsturm is considered the landmark of Bregenz (late Roman core, chapel with frescos from 1362, from 1599 to 1601 a storey was added, biggest Baroque bulb-shaped steeple in Central Europe, houses the Museum of Military History); Gothic parish church of St. Gall (the Roman-Romanesque foundations date from before 1380, rebuilt around 1480, from 1737 to 1938 altered by F. A. Beer in Baroque style); Herz-Jesu parish church (1905–1908).

Lower town: town hall built in 1686 (façade from 1898) Gothic Seekapelle, Landhaus (built from 1973 to 1982 by W. Holzbauer), the former Kornhausmarkt (built from 1838 to 1940, altered from 1951 to 1955) now houses a theatre, Protestant church of the Sacred Cross (1862–1864), Parish church, church of St. Kolumban (1962–1966), Kunsthaus Bregenz (1991–1997), Tourismushaus tourist centre (1994–1998). District of Vorkloster: Maria Hilf parish church (1925–1931, C. Holzmeister, interior from 1980) and Cistercian monastery of Mehrerau. On the Gebhardsberg rock, remains of the fortress of Hohenbregenz (destroyed by the Swedes in 1647).

Businesses and services

Bregenz
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
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19
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13
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120
 
8
2
 
 
95
 
5
0
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: ZAMG

Culture

The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is a world-famous festival which takes place on and around a stage on Lake Constance, where a different opera is performed every second year.

Sport

Personalities

Notes and references

  1. ^ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2011-01-01.
  2. ^ Strabo, Geographia Book IV Chap. 6
  3. ^ B. Bilgeri, Bregenz, Geschichte der Stadt, Bd. 1, Wien-München ,1980
  4. ^ "Foreign representations in Austria". Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (Austria). http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/service/foreign-representations-in-austria-in-german.html?no_cache=1. Retrieved 2009-01-27. 

External links

Administrative seats of Austrian states
Bregenz • Eisenstadt • Graz • Innsbruck • Klagenfurt • Linz • Salzburg • Sankt Pölten • Vienna
Municipalities in the district of Bregenz