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Bregenz & Vorarlberg Sightseeing Guide The tiny province in the very West of Austria is the only region in the country with an Alemannic population. This makes their accent (among other things) barely understandable to the rest of the country. An Austrian cartoonist once said that the people of Vorarlberg unite the bad habits of Austrians, Swabians and Swiss. However, Vorarlberg has a good reputation for its dramatic mountain scenery, tidy cities and access to Europe’s biggest lake, the beautiful Bodensee or Lake Constance. Bregenz, the capital of Vorarlberg, is a very historical place. The counts of the house of Uldarchinger shaped the city throughout the Middle Ages and many buildings from this period are still preserved. It became part of the Habsburg’s rapidly growing portfolio of territorial real estate possessions around 1500. Many visitors of Austria consider Vorarlberg the province with the most dramatic and most scenic landscape. More scenery than citiesBregenz is a market town with a population of around 27,000. In terms of sightseeing, it offers a range of nice medieval and early modern buildings. The Martinsturm Tower has a Roman core, there is the Gothic Church of St. Gall and a variety of smaller buildings. Bregenz also makes a good base for excursions to the Bregenzer Wald Forest, which is said to be among the most scenic in Austria. The centre of the forest is Bezau. There is also a small monastery nearby.
A short panorama view on some mountains in Vorarlberg near Bregenz gives an idea of how high these things really are. In the summer, the Bregenz Festival is organised – a festival of classical music and opera, performed on a stage that is built directly on the surface of Lake Bodensee. It is famous for its extravagant stage settings and the beauty of the scenery with the lake and mountains framing the performance. For a day-trip from Bregenz, try to get to the historic towns of
Feldkirch, Dornbirn or
Hohenems,
Bludenz, Schrunz-Tschagguns or
the village of Schwarzenberg. Very
popular with domestic tourists is
Mittelberg im Kleinwalsertal. The surroundings
of Bregenz towards Mount Arlberg offer some of Austria's best
slopes for skiing with
famous ski resort
communities such as
Klösterle, Lech, Zürs or
Stuben. See also my list of
communities in Vorarlberg. back to "sightseeing" Sightseeing in other ProvincesBregenz and Vorarlberg - Innsbruck and Tyrol - Salzburg - Linz & Upper Austria - Salzkammergut - Graz and Styria - Klagenfurt and Carinthia - Wachau and Lower Austria - Vienna - Burgenland Further ReadingOfficial website of the Local Tourism Council Official Website of the Austrian Tourism Council |
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