Schröcken is a municipality in the district of Bregenz, in the westernmost

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 ...

n state 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 ...

Geography

Schröcken is in the Austrian Alps, at an altitude of 1,269 meters. 12.4% of the area are forested, 39.4% Alpine area.

History

The region around Schröcken was first populated around 1300 CE by German-speaking people known as the Walser, who came to Austria in from the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

(highlands) located in the southern part of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

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 ...

. The town became part of a regional administrative area called Tannberg in 1806. From 1805 to 1814, the town was under the jurisdiction of the Free State of

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 ...

. Later it reverted to become part of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire, and in 1861 was integrated into the newly founded state of Vorarlberg, Austria. From 1945 to 1955, Schröcken was part of the French occupation zone in Austria.

Name

The original name was "Girsboden". "Schröcken" first appeared in the early 17th century.

Population

Politics

The political administration body consists of a 9-member council and a mayor.

Sights

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption The first church of Schröcken was built in 1639. The church increased its membership from 1726 to 1732, but the building was destroyed by fire in 1863. A rebuilding effort took place between 1864 and 1867, when it was re-consecrated. The church is surrounded by a walled cemetery. Chapel of the Annunciation 18th century neo-Gothic chapel, consecrated in 1779.

Economy

Tourism is the main economic enterprise, with an emphasis on outdoor activities including, skiing, hiking, and other mountain sports.

Transportation

There is public transportation provided by Wälderbus 40 or 42, which connects with the broader Vorarlberg-Austrian-European network. The main road is the Bregenzerwald Bundesstraße 200.

Education

The town has a primary school and a kindergarten.

Climate

References

* Schröcken

External links

Google Map of Walser Settlements 1200 to Present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrocken Cities and towns in Bregenz District