The Vorarlberg School of Architecture (German: ''Vorarlberger Schule'') or Guild of Au (German: ''Auer Zunft'') refers to a group of architects and builders founded in 1657 by Johann Michael Beer in the town of

Au im Bregenzerwald Au is a town in the Bregenz Forest in Vorarlberg (Austria). Geography The town belongs to the Bregenz Forest, is part of the district of Bregenz, and lies in the '' Upper Bregenz Forst.'' 40 percent of its 45 km² area is covered with ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , 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 ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

). The school remained active in southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

until the end of the 18th century. Its most important members came from the Beer, Moosbrugger and Thumb families. The Vorarlberg School developed a distinct design for churches known as ''Vorarlberger Münsterschema''. The school is notable for its skillful blending of buildings (most of which are abbeys) with the surrounding landscape.

Museum

In 2021, the

Museum of Baroque Master Builders A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in Au was opened. It is located in the renovated "Kurathus". The museum deals with the founding history of the Auer Zunft and the work of the Baroque master builders and also with the contemporary design competence of the members of the Au craft guild. Topics such as thinking in cooperatives, quality awareness and the model of supra-regional transfer of skills are highlighted. In addition, the Baroque master builder museum tells a piece of local and regional history.

External links

The Culture Information System of the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

References

{{Reflist Architecture schools Culture of Vorarlberg