Feldkirch, Vorarlberg

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Feldkirch

Coat of arms
Feldkirch
Location within Austria
Coordinates: 47°14′17″N 09°35′54″E / 47.23806°N 9.59833°E / 47.23806; 9.59833Coordinates: 47°14′17″N 09°35′54″E / 47.23806°N 9.59833°E / 47.23806; 9.59833
Country Austria
State Vorarlberg
District Feldkirch
Government
 • Mayor Wilfried Berchtold (ÖVP)
Area
 • Total 34.35 km2 (13.26 sq mi)
Elevation 458 m (1,503 ft)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
 • Total 31,054
 • Density 900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 6800
Area code 05522
Vehicle registration FK
Website www.feldkirch.at

Feldkirch is a medieval city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, at 47°15′N 9°35′E / 47.250°N 9.583°E / 47.250; 9.583, on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has a population of 32,193 (2007), and is the administrative center of the district Feldkirch. After Dornbirn, it is the second largest town in Vorarlberg in terms of population, with slightly more inhabitants than the state capital Bregenz.

The beautiful medieval town, which remains well preserved to this day, was mentioned as a city for the first time in 1218, after Count Hugo von Montfort built the "Schattenburg", a castle which still is the major landmark of Feldkirch. Other sights in the town include the cathedral of St. Nikolaus from the late Gothic period. Feldkirch was the birthplace of Rheticus, and is currently the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Feldkirch.

The writer James Joyce paid a visit to Feldkirch in 1932 to see his friend Eugene Jolas. He famously said to Jolas "Over there, on those tracks, the fate of Ulysses was decided in 1915". Joyce had travelled through Feldkirch by train in 1915, when he moved from Trieste to Zürich to avoid the complexities of living in Austria-Hungary during World War I. The train was boarded and passengers inspected by officials; if Joyce had been arrested then, he would have been unable to write Ulysses in its present form. There is an areaway in the town named after him, and a dedication to him at Feldkirch railway station.

In the 1990s Feldkirch has built a reputation of having a top ice hockey team. They won the European Cup in 1997/1998 with stars such as Gustafsson, Duus, and Rundqvist.

Town districts

  • Feldkirch (3199 inhabitants)
  • Levis (2372 inhabitants)
  • Altenstadt (4889 inhabitants)
  • Gisingen (8622 inhabitants)
  • Nofels (3808 inhabitants)
  • Tosters (5397 inhabitants)
  • Tisis (4958 inhabitants)

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Feldkirch has had its own local bus network since 1993, which currently consists of 8 lines including buses to the north of neighbouring Liechtenstein. The bus system works together with Vorarlberg's bus system which provides several supra-regional lines starting and ending in Feldkirch. There's an additional line called "nightline" which connects different bars and discos all around Feldkirch. The nightline plies till about 4 o'clock am on weekends.

Feldkirch railway station lies on the main railway line through the Vorarlberg.

Companies

As of 15 May 2001, 13,146 employees were employed by 1,464 companies in Feldkirch, including 5 large companies each employing more than 200 people.

The following companies are based in Feldkirch:

  • Bachmann Electronic
  • Vorarlberg Milch
  • Lingenhöle Technologie
  • Stadtwerke Feldkirch
  • KSW Tankstellen- und Industrieanlagenbau
  • Gebäudereinigung Bauer
  • Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
68
 
3
−3
 
 
65
 
5
−2
 
 
73
 
10
1
 
 
87
 
14
4
 
 
107
 
19
8
 
 
151
 
22
11
 
 
165
 
24
14
 
 
152
 
24
13
 
 
113
 
20
10
 
 
78
 
14
6
 
 
92
 
8
1
 
 
80
 
4
−2
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: ZAMG

Climate

Climate data for Feldkirch
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 2
(36)		 4
(39)		 9
(49)		 14
(58)		 18
(65)		 22
(72)		 24
(75)		 23
(73)		 19
(66)		 13
(56)		 7
(45)		 2
(36)		 13.1
(55.8)
Average low °C (°F) −4
(24)		 −4
(25)		 0
(32)		 4
(39)		 8
(46)		 11
(52)		 13
(55)		 13
(55)		 10
(50)		 5
(41)		 1
(34)		 −3
(26)		 4.5
(39.9)
Precipitation mm (inches) 69
(2.7)		 53
(2.1)		 66
(2.6)		 84
(3.3)		 109
(4.3)		 137
(5.4)		 163
(6.4)		 155
(6.1)		 112
(4.4)		 81
(3.2)		 71
(2.8)		 69
(2.7)		 1,169
(46)
Source: Weatherbase [2]

Schools

  • Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch (founded in 1649)
  • Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch
  • Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse (GYS)& Musikgymnasium Feldkirch www.gys.at
  • Bundeshandelsakademie und Handelsschule Feldkirch
  • Institut St. Josef
  • Musikschule der Stadt Feldkirch
  • Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium
  • Pädagogische Hochschule des Bundes in Vorarlberg

Notable people

  • Bartholomäus Bernhardi (1487–1551), Lutheran theologian
  • Wolf Huber (c. 1485-1553), painter (Danube school) and architect
  • Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–1574), mathematician and astronomer
  • Karl Bleyle (1880–1969), musician and composer
  • Elmar Fischer (* 1936), bishop of the Feldkirch diocese
  • Bernhard Leitner (* 1938), artist
  • P. Georg Sporschill SJ (* 1946), pastor known for his social engagement for orphans and street children in Romania and Moldova and work with the homeless in Vienna.
  • Wiltrud Drexel (* 1950), ski racer
  • Günther Freitag (* 1952), novelist
  • Herbert Bösch (* 1954), politician and MEP
  • Natalie Uher (* 1968), Playmate (Playboy September 1984) and actress (Emmanuelle 6 (1988))
  • Hans Weingartner (* 1970), author, director and film producer (famous for the international hit The Edukators starring Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch).

Feldkirch Festival

Feldkirch is the home of an annual Summer Festival, founded in 2002 by Thomas Hengelbrock and directed since 2007 by Philippe Arlaud.[3]

Sport clubs

Twin towns

References

  1. ↑ Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2013-01-01.
  2. ↑ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Feldkirch, Austria". Weatherbase. 2011.  Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
  3. ↑ Geschichte Feldkirch Festival History of the Felkirch Festival (in German)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feldkirch.
Municipalities in the State of Vorarlberg
Bludenz District
Bregenz District
Dornbirn District
Feldkirch District
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