Bregenz (; ) is the capital of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , 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 the state with the second-highest popu ...

, the westernmost

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, between

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the west and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the northwest. Bregenz is located on a plateau falling in a series of terraces to the lake at the foot of

Pfänder The Pfänder is a mountain in western Austria close to Lake Constance (). The city of Bregenz lies at the foot of the mountain on the shores of the lake. With its views over the lake and the surrounding mountain peaks, the Pfänder is one of ...

mountain. It is a junction of the arterial roads from the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

valley to the German Alpine foothills, with cruise ship services on Lake Constance. It is famous for the annual summer music festival ''

Bregenzer Festspiele Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

'', as well as the dance festival ''Bregenzer Spring''.

History

The first settlements date from 1500 BC. The

Brigantii The Brigantii (Gaulish: ''Brigantioi'', 'the eminent, high ones') were a Gallic tribe who lived southeast of Lake Constance (''Lacus Brigantinus''), in the area of present-day Bregenz (''Brigantion''), in Austria's state of Vorarlberg, during the ...

are mentioned by Strabo as a Celtic sub-tribe in this region of the Alps. In the 5th century BC, the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

settled at Brigantion, which became one of their most heavily fortified locations. After a series of 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 50 AD. Brigantium was the seat of the Roman admiralty for

and included a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

, Germanic peoples who settled in the area in around 450. From 610 to 612

Saint Columbanus Saint Columbanus (; 543 – 23 November 615) was an Hiberno-Scottish mission, Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monastery, monasteries after 590 in the Franks, Frankish and Lombards, Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey ...

and

Saint Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

worked as missionaries in Bregenz. From 917 onwards the castle served as a residence of the Udalrichinger (ruling dynasty of Vorarlberg), who called themselves Counts of

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

. The house died out around 1150. The son of the first Ulrich was

Saint Gebhard Gebhard of Constance (; ; 949 995 AD) was a bishop of Constance from 979 until 995. He founded the Benedictine abbey of Petershausen in 983. Regarded as a Christian saint, his feast day is 27 August. Life Gebhard was born about 949, at Hohenb ...

, born in 947. He became the

Bishop of Konstanz The Prince-Bishopric of Constance () was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dual capacity as prince and as bishop, the prince-bishop also admini ...

. In around 1170 Hugo of Tübingen (Montfort) founded a town settlement (first documented in 1249), enlarged it in the 13th and 14th centuries and from 1650 to 1652. The city was sold in 1451, and again in 1523, to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s and continued under Austrian rule, with a brief occupation by Swedish forces under

Carl Gustaf Wrangel ''Fältmarskalk'' Carl Gustaf Wrangel (also Carl Gustav von Wrangel; 23 December 1613 – 5 July 1676) was a Swedish statesman and military commander who commanded the Swedish forces in the Thirty Years' War, as well as the Torstenson, Bremen, ...

during the

30 Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, while ...

, until the 19th century. Bregenz was under

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n rule from 1805 to 1814. From 1842 to 1850, the harbour on

was built, then enlarged in 1883 and from 1889 to 1891, and Austrian ship service was inaugurated in 1884. Railway services have existed since 1872, and since 1884 across the

Arlberg The Arlberg (, also: ''Arlberg Pass'') is a mountain pass between states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. Ski resorts at the Arlberg include Lech, Zürs, Stuben, St. Christoph, St. Anton, Oberlech, Stubenbach, Zug, and Warth. It is the m ...

massif. Since 1726, Bregenz has been the main seat of Austrian administration in

(''Obervogtei'', in 1786 ''Kreisamt'', since 1861 seat of the Landtag, since 1918 seat of the

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

). Rieden-Vorkloster and Fluh were incorporated into Bregenz in 1919 and 1946, respectively. The town was bombed by the Allies in 1945, and 72 houses were destroyed.

Population

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:650 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:30000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1869 text: 1869 bar:1880 text: 1880 bar:1890 text: 1890 bar:1900 text: 1900 bar:1910 text: 1910 bar:1923 text: 1923 bar:1934 text: 1934 bar:1939 text: 1939 bar:1951 text: 1951 bar:1961 text: 1961 bar:1971 text: 1971 bar:1981 text: 1981 bar:1991 text: 1991 bar:2001 text: 2001 bar:2006 text: 2006 bar:2011 text: 2011 PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1869 from:0 till: 5223 bar:1880 from:0 till: 6691 bar:1890 from:0 till: 9576 bar:1900 from:0 till: 11455 bar:1910 from:0 till: 13687 bar:1923 from:0 till: 13289 bar:1934 from:0 till: 14999 bar:1939 from:0 till: 15098 bar:1951 from:0 till: 20277 bar:1961 from:0 till: 21428 bar:1971 from:0 till: 23179 bar:1981 from:0 till: 24561 bar:1991 from:0 till: 27097 bar:2001 from:0 till: 26752 bar:2006 from:0 till: 27035 bar:2011 from:0 till: 27831 PlotData= bar:1869 at: 5223 fontsize:S text: 5.223 shift:(-10,5) bar:1880 at: 6691 fontsize:S text: 6.691 shift:(-10,5) bar:1890 at: 9576 fontsize:S text: 9.576 shift:(-10,5) bar:1900 at: 11455 fontsize:S text: 11.455 shift:(-10,5) bar:1910 at: 13687 fontsize:S text: 13.687 shift:(-10,5) bar:1923 at: 13289 fontsize:S text: 13.289 shift:(-10,5) bar:1934 at: 14999 fontsize:S text: 14.999 shift:(-10,5) bar:1939 at: 15098 fontsize:S text: 15.098 shift:(-10,5) bar:1951 at: 20277 fontsize:S text: 20.277 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 21428 fontsize:S text: 21.428 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 23179 fontsize:S text: 23.179 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 24561 fontsize:S text: 24.561 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 27097 fontsize:S text: 27.097 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at: 26752 fontsize:S text: 26.752 shift:(-10,5) bar:2006 at: 27035 fontsize:S text: 27.035 shift:(-10,5) bar:2011 at: 27784 fontsize:S text: 27.831 shift:(-10,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:"Quelle: Statistik Austria" 220px, The Pfänder, a panoramic point of Bregenz. 220px, The Martinsturm, built in 1601. 220px, Congress and Culture Center. 220px, Ancient city wall, upper town. 220px, Kunsthaus Bregenz 220px, Vorarlberg museum

Main sights

Upper town

*Remains from the 13th and 16th centuries *Town walls *Old town hall (1662) *Martinsturm (Martin's Tower). Originally built by the Romans, it has a chapel with frescoes dating from 1362. Between 1599 and 1601 an additional storey was added. It has the largest bulb-shaped Baroque steeple in Central Europe, and houses the Museum of Military History. *Gothic parish church of St Gall: its Romanesque foundations date from before 1380, but it was rebuilt around 1480. Around 1737 it was converted to a Baroque style. *Herz-Jesu parish church (1905–1908).

Lower town

*Floating stage on lake Constance *Town hall, built in 1686 (façade from 1898) *Gothic Seekapelle (Lake Chapel) *Landhaus (built from 1973 to 1982 by W. Holzbauer) *Former Kornhausmarkt (built 1838 to 1940, altered 1951 to 1955); it now houses a theatre. *Protestant church of the Sacred Cross (1862–1864) *Church of St Kolumban (1962–1966) *Kunsthaus Bregenz (1991–1997) (modern art museum) *Tourismushaus (tourist centre) (1994–1998). Sights in the district of Vorkloster include the Maria Hilf parish church (1925–1931, by C. Holzmeister, interior from 1980) and the Cistercian monastery of

Mehrerau Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Catho ...

. On the Gebhardsberg rock are remains of the fortress of Hohenbregenz (destroyed by the Swedes in 1647).

Businesses and services

Government

Bregenz is the seat of the Vorarlberg State Assembly (

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

), and of most of the provincial authorities/institutions of Vorarlberg (e.g. school superintendent, police headquarters, department of human resources development (AMS), Office for Environmental Protection, Chamber of Labour, Economics Chamber, Chamber of Agriculture, Chamber of Pharmacists, military regional headquarters, military garrison, one of the main hospitals of the province (Landeskrankenhaus), as well as a sanatorium, farmers' health and social insurance office, VLV (Mutual Fire Insurance Institute).

Consulates

consulate-general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of Turkey, and

honorary consulates A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of Belarus, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland are located in Bregenz. Honorary consulates of Finland and the United Kingdom are located in nearby Lauterach, and an honorary consulate of Brazil in nearby

Hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

Schools and the arts

Bregenz is home to four Gymnasium secondary schools, a commercial college (HAK), a technical college (HTL), upper secondary business schools (Höhere Lehranstalt für wirtschaftliche Berufe), three Berufsschulen (vocational schools), crafts colleges, the Academy of Social Sciences, and a nursing school. Others include: an adult education centre, school boarding houses, state archives, a state library, a state museum,

Kunsthaus Bregenz The Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) presents temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art in Bregenz, Vorarlberg (Austria). History Commissioned by the State of Vorarlberg and designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the Kunsthaus Br ...

(modern arts centre), Künstlerhaus (art centre),

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...

Palace, five monasteries, Heimatwerk (autonomous institution fostering the manufacturing of traditional craft products), and various newspapers.

Public facilities

Festival and Congress centre, Theater am Kornmarkt, casino, harbour for sailing boats and yachts, cable car up onto the Pfänder mountain.

Economy

The economy is mainly dominated by small businesses in the services, trade and industry sectors: these include the textile industry (

Wolford Wolford, headquartered in Bregenz on Lake Constance in Austria, is a textile manufacturer of tights, bodysuits and underwear, as well as women's clothing and accessories. Wolford has 16 subsidiaries and markets its products in approx. 60 co ...

AG), fittings manufacturer Julius Blum GmbH, glass processing and machine construction. Bi-seasonal tourism is important; a major attraction is the Bregenz Festival (since 1946, floating stage since 1949, modernised in 1979, Festival and Congress Hall in 1980), winter sports on the Pfänder mountain.

Culture

Bregenzer Festspiele

The annual summer music festival

is world-famous, taking place in July and August each year on and around a stage on

. This festival attracts more than 150,000 people every year to Bregenz (2011: 166,453, 2016: 159,172) and has a budget of around EUR 20 million. The program changes every two years. In addition to the performances on the lake stage, orchestral concerts and operas also take place in the adjacent festival theatre. There is also a children's and youth program during and before the beginning of the festival. The lake stage (''Seebühne'') is the largest open-air lake stage theatre in the world, with an audience capacity of around 7,000.

Bregenz Jazz Festival

Since 2014, the Bregenz Jazz Festival has been held every year in June at the Kornmarktplatz. It is the successor of the ''New Orleans Festival'', which took place from 1999 to 2013, during the early summer, in the inner city of Bregenz, and which was no longer supported by the initiator Markus Linder. In addition to the change of name, there was also a musical genre change from blues to jazz. The location and the timing stayed roughly the same.

Bregenzer Frühling

Since 1987, Bregenzer Spring, a dance festival, has been held every year between March and June in the Festival Hall of Bregenz (Festspielhaus). Dance ensembles from all over the world perform their new productions, along with Austrian premieres. With a budget of around EUR 500,000 and up to 10,000 visitors, Bregenzer Spring is one of the most important dance festivals in Austria.

Others

* In 2013/2019 a Roman Theatre was excavated in Bregenz. * The Galgenbihl (gallow hill) is almost forgotten.

Climate

Transport

There are three railway stations within the municipality.

Bregenz railway station Bregenz railway station () is a railway station in the Municipalities of Austria, municipality of Bregenz, located in the Bregenz District, Bregenz district in Vorarlberg, Austria, on the southeastern shore of Lake Constance. It is an intermedia ...

is an intermediate stop on the Vorarlberg railway line (), which traverses Vorarlberg in a north-south direction. The harbour of Bregenz is adjacent to Bregenz Hafen railway station, which is situated on the same railway line. A third station, is situated further south on the Vorarlberg line. Bregenz station is called at by the S1 and S3 regional train services of

Vorarlberg S-Bahn Vorarlberg S-Bahn () is a label for regional rail services in the westernmost Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg. The S-Bahn services also connect to stations in the Germany, German town of Lindau, the Switzerland, Swiss towns of S ...

, S7 service of St. Gallen S-Bahn, REX 1 and long-distance

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

and

Railjet Railjet is a high-speed rail service in Europe operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways (ČD). Branded as ''Railjet Express'' (RJX category) for the fastest services and as ''Railjet'' (RJ) for services with additional s ...

trains, while the other two stations are only served by regional trains (S1, S3, REX 1). The regional train services are also part of

Bodensee S-Bahn Bodensee S-Bahn is an international marketing effort grouping various regional rail services (S-Bahn, R/RB, RE, RE/REX) around Lake Constance () in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Cross-border rail and bus services along with Lake Constance ...

. The ''

Pfänderbahn The ''Pfänderbahn'' () is an aerial tramway in Bregenz in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It connects the shore of Lake Constance () at above sea level with the high mountain station near the '' Pfänderspitze''. The valley ...

'' is an

aerial tram An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

mountain, with its

valley station The valley station is the lower terminal of an aerial lift, cable car, gondola lift, chairlift, rack railway or ski lift. The valley station is the counterpart of a top station. Cable cars may be boarded at both stations. The valley station is al ...

located in Bregenz.

Sport

* A1 Bregenz HB is a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

team. *

SC Bregenz SC, Sc or sc may refer to: Arts and media * ''Sim City'', a city-building simulator game * Snapchat, a multimedia messaging app * Soccer club, another name for a football club in association football * Social club, a type of club. * ''Soulcalibu ...

is the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team of the town, competing in the

Austrian Regional League The Austrian Regionalliga ( or plural , means Regional League) is the third-highest division in Austrian football, after the Austrian Bundesliga and the Second League. It is divided into 3 groups: East (), covering the states of Vienna, Lower A ...

(Third Division).

Notable people

Public service & commerce

* Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1559 in Lochau – 1617), Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, 1587/1612 *

Josef Fessler Josef Fessler (1813-1872) was Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop of Sankt Pölten in Austria, a secretary of the First Vatican Council and an authority on patristics. Biography and works Josef Fessler was born to a peasant family on 2 ...

(1813 in Lochau – 1872), Roman Catholic Bishop of Sankt Pölten. *

Victor von Ebner Anton Gilbert Victor von Ebner, Ritter von Rofenstein (February 4, 1842 – March 20, 1925) was an Austrian anatomist and histologist. Early life and education Victor von Ebner was a native of Bregenz. He was a student at the Universities o ...

(1842 – 1925), Austrian

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

histologist Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures visi ...

Johann Georg Hagen Johann (John) Georg Hagen (March 6, 1847 – September 6, 1930) was an Austrian Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest and astronomer. After serving as Director of the Georgetown University Astronomical Observatory, Georgetown University Observator ...

(1847–1930), Jesuit priest and astronomer *

Jodok Fink Jodok Fink (19 February 1853 – 1 July 1929) was an Austrian farmer and politician who served as the first Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 15 March 1919 to 24 June 1920. Life Fink was born in Andelsbuch, in the Bregenz Forest region, the son o ...

(1853 in Andelsbuch – 1929), farmer and politician, first

Vice-Chancellor of Austria The vice-chancellor of Austria is a member of the Government of Austria and is the deputy to the Chancellor. It is functionally equivalent to a deputy prime minister in other countries with parliamentary systems. The current vice-chancellor ...

, 1919 to 1920. *

Valentin Feurstein Valentin Feurstein (1 January 1885 – 8 June 1970) was an Austrian military officer who served in the Austrian and German armies. Feurstein joined the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1907, he served in World War I and in the Austrian Bundesheer in th ...

(1885–1970), Austrian general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during World War II. * Lorenz Bohler (1885 in Wolfurt – 1973), surgeon, an innovator of accident surgery, Nazi *

Maria Stromberger Maria Stromberger (16 March 1898 – 18 May 1957) was an Austrian nurse who is best known for supporting the inmates and their resistance movement in Auschwitz, resistance movement at the Auschwitz concentration camp during The Holocaust. Afte ...

(1898 in Metnitz–1957), nurse, supported the inmates at

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

, lived and died locally *

Irmfried Eberl Irmfried Eberl (8 September 1910 – 16 February 1948) was an Austrian psychiatrist and medical director of the euthanasia institutes in Brandenburg and Bernburg, who helped set up and was the first commandant of the Treblinka extermination camp ...

(1910–1948), psychiatrist and commander of

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...

Hermann Gmeiner Hermann Gmeiner (23 June 1919 – 26 April 1986) was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's Villages. Life Born to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg (present-day Austria), Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholar ...

(1919 in Alberschwende – 1986),

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and founder of

SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to families facing difficultie ...

* Fritz Mayer, (DE Wiki) (1933–1988), politician, mayor of Bregenz, 1970 to 1988 *

Herbert Sausgruber Herbert Sausgruber (born July 24, 1946) was governor of the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and chairman of the Vorarlberg ÖVP. Education After the ''Matura'' (general qualification for university entrance), Sausgruber he studied law and Cath ...

(born 1946 in Bludenz), governor of

, 1997-2011 *

İlber Ortaylı İlber Ortaylı (; born 21 May 1947) is a Turkish historian and professor of history of Crimean Tatar origin at the MEF University, Galatasaray University in Istanbul and at Bilkent University in Ankara. In 2005, he was appointed as the dire ...

(born 1947), Turkish historian and professor of history *

Günter Bischof Günter Bischof (born 6 October 1953 in Mellau, Vorarlberg) is an Austrian-American historian and university professor. A specialist in 20th century diplomatic history, and a graduate of University of New Orleans, Innsbruck University and Harvar ...

(born 1953 in Mellau), Austrian-American historian and university professor *

Ernst Fehr Ernst Fehr (born 21 June 1956 in Hard, Austria) is an Austrian-Swiss behavioral economist and neuroeconomist and a Professor of Microeconomics and Experimental Economic Research, as well as the vice chairman of the Department of Economics at the ...

(born 1956 in Hard) Austrian behavioral economist and neuroeconomist *

Anton Amann Anton Amann (20 June 1956 – 6 January 2015) was an Austrian chemist and Professor of chemistry at the Innsbruck Medical University. He worked in the area of physical chemistry, ECG analysis, and exhaled breath analysis. Amann was the ...

(1956 – 2015), Austrian chemist and professor of chemistry at the Innsbruck Medical University *

Hans-Peter Martin Hans-Peter Martin (born 11 August 1957) is an Austrian author and journalist and former politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014. Journalist and author Born in Bregenz, Austria, Martin graduated from the ...

(born 1957), journalist and politician, (SPOe),

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

* Hanni Rützler (born 1962), nutritional scientist, food trends researcher, author and health psychologist.

The Arts

* Johann Conrad Dorner (1810 in Egg – 1866), Austrian painter *

Kaspar Albrecht Kaspar Albrecht (22 August 1889 – 25 March 1970) was an Austrian architect and sculptor. Biography Kaspar Albrecht grew up in a large family in Rehmen, Austria, in rather poor conditions in Bregenzerwald. He attended the State Trade School ...

(1889 in Au – 1970), architect and sculptor *

Karl Michael Vogler Karl Michael Vogler (28 August 1928 – 9 June 2009) was a German actor, probably best known for his appearances in several big-budget English language films. In '' The Blue Max'' (1966), he co-starred with George Peppard and Ursula Andress as ...

(1928 in Remscheid – 2009), actor, raised in Bregenz *

Sieghardt Rupp Sieghardt Rupp (14 June 1931 – 20 July 2015)Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk ...

(born 1961), writer of novels and poetry *

Stefan Sagmeister Steve (born August 6, 1962) is an Austrian graphic designer, storyteller, and typographer based in New York City. In 1993, Sagmeister founded his company, Sagmeister Inc., to create designs for the music industry. He has designed album covers for ...

(born 1962),

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, storyteller, and typographer * Markus Gasser (born 1967), literary scientist and author *

Arno Geiger Arno Geiger (born 22 July 1968) is an Austrian novelist. Geiger grew up in the village of Wolfurt near Bregenz. He studied German studies, ancient history and comparative literature at the universities of Innsbruck and Vienna. He has worked as ...

(born 1968 in Wolfurt), Austrian novelist * Roman Rafreider (born 1969), Austrian television host and journalist *

Christof Unterberger Christof Unterberger (born October 28, 1970) is an Austrian cellist and film composer. Biography Unterberger was born in Bregenz, Austria. He received his first cello training at the Conservatory of Graz and later at the Higher School of Music i ...

(born 1970),

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and film composer * Maria Anwander (born 1980), conceptual artist, performance and installation art *

Lukas Birk Lukas Birk (born 1982) is an Austrian photographer, archivist, and publisher. He is mainly known for his visual archive work in Myanmar and research on Box Camera photography in Afghanistan. Birk has worked on photographic projects, films and ...

(born 1982), photographer * Kian Soltani (born 1992), principal cellist in

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra * Jakob Kasimir Hellrigl (born 1992), known as '' Candy Ken'', rapper

Sport

* Georg Bilgeri (1873–1934), Austro–Hungarian Army officer, mountaineer, and Austrian pioneer of skiing. *

Max Sick Max Sick (28 June 1882 – 10 May 1961) was a German strongman and gymnast who performed as Maxick. With Monte Saldo, he developed the Maxalding system of bodybuilding through muscle control. Early life Born in Bregenz in Austria in 1882 to ...

(1882–1961), German strongman and gymnast, performed as ''Maxick''. *

Patrick Ortlieb Patrick Ortlieb (born 20 May 1967) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Austria. A specialist in the speed events, he was also a world champion in the downhill event. Born in Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Ortlieb start ...

(born 1967), former World Cup alpine ski racer and gold medalist at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

Aleksandar Đorđević Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Саша Ђорђевић, ; born 26 August 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for the senior China. During his ...

(born 1981), an Austrian footballer with over 300 club caps * Lucas Mayer (born 1983), an Austrian former handball player, who played 78 games for

* Robert Weber (born 1985), handball player with 213 caps for

, the third highest * Philipp Netzer (born 1985), an Austrian football coach and former player who played 394 games. * Dario Baldauf (born 1985), an Austrian footballer who has played over 320 games * Martin Kobras (born 1986), an Austrian football goalkeeper, played 341 games for

SC Rheindorf Altach Sportclub Rheindorf Altach, also known as Rheindorf Altach, SCR Altach or simply SCRA, is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club based in Altach, Vorarlberg. It plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club is currently ...

* Lukas Katnik (born 1989), an Austrian footballer who had played over 310 games *

Manuel Sutter Manuel Sutter (born 8 March 1991) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liechtensteiner club Balzers in the Swiss fourth-tier 1. Liga. Club career On 1 July 2023, Sutter signed with Balzers Balzers () is a municipa ...

(born 8 1991), an Austrian footballer who has played over 330 games *

Barbara Gasser Barbara Gasser is an Austrian former artistic gymnast. She represented Austria at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2012 she was the first Austrian Gymnast since 1964, 48 years, to qualify for artistic gymnastics at the Summer Olympics. Gasser was a ...

(born in 1989), an Austrian gymnast who represented Austria in London 2012 Olympics

Twin towns

Bregenz is twinned with: * Bangor,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

– various exchange trips take place between the two places. *

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

References

External links

* * http://www.bregenz.at Official site (in German) * http://www.pfaender.at Official site (German/English/Italiano/Français) of the Pfänder Mountain * http://www.pfaenderbahn.at (in German) * http://www.scbregenz.at Official site (in German) of local Football Club
Bregenzer Festspiele/ Bregenze Festival website

* See https://www.stampsoftheworld.co.uk/wiki/Bregenz_(AT) for an history of BREGENZ post and postmarks. {{Authority control Austrian state capitals Cities and towns in Bregenz District Populated places on Lake Constance Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC Vorarlberg Further Austria