Attractions & Landmarks In Bregenz
Nestled on the banks of Lake Constance in Austria, Bregenz is a stunning city that expertly combines historical relevance, cultural diversity, and breathtaking beauty. Bregenz is a well-known travel destination drawing visitors from all over the world because of its stunning surroundings and cultural significance.Bregenz is a stunning Austrian city well-known for its rich cultural and historical legacy as well as a plethora of sights to see.
Wandering the pedestrian-only Lake Promenade, which offers breathtaking views of the lake and mountains, is one of the most well-liked things to do. Having been built in the 1880s, it has been enlarged and refurbished throughout time to include eateries, cafés, stores, and parks where guests may have picnics or food and beverages. Particularly lovely at dusk and night, the lake is enchanted by the floating stage and city lights.
Every July and August, the Bregenz Festival—one of the most well-known and historic cultural events in Europe—features opera, operatic, and symphonic performances on the floating stage. At various downtown locations, including the Festspielhaus, the Kunsthaus, and the Kornmarktplatz, the festival also presents music and events.
Bregenz’s own Pfänder Mountain provides sweeping views of the city, lake, and Alps for those who like the outdoors. Pfänder Cable Car provides sweeping views of the lake, city, and Alps as visitors ascend to the peak. At the summit, guests may dine at one of the restaurants or huts, walk, ride, or ski on a variety of paths and slopes, or visit the Alpine Wildlife Park.
Designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the Bregenz Art Museum (also called the Kunsthaus Bregenz) features modern art from Austria and beyond. In addition to planning public guided tours, seminars, talks, and events, the museum presents transient exhibitions of several mediums.
Divided into the Lower Town and the Upper Town, the Old Town of Bregenz is the historical and cultural core of the city. The medieval Upper Town has the Renaissance Palace, Gothic St. Martin’s Chapel, and Gothic Parish Church; the Lower Town has Roman and Celtic villages, Gothic St. Gallus Church, Baroque Town Hall, and Martinsturm. In addition, there are plenty of cafés, restaurants, stores, and galleries in the Old Town that offer a chance to see regional way of life and culture.
Museums & Galleries in Bregenz
Vorarlberg Museum
The state museum of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria, is the Vorarlberg Museum. It was established in 1857 and has ever since functioned as a storehouse for the art and cultural treasures of the state. The museum does study on these stuff and makes it available to the public through publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.
About 150,000 objects spanning archeology, history, art history, and folklore are part of the museum collection. Although the museum specializes on Vorarlberg material, it also sees it from a wider angle that goes beyond state boundaries.Highlights of the collection include baroque, folk, modern, and prehistoric and Roman objects as well as medieval sculptures and paintings.
Comprising a modern building designed by Swiss architect Cuno Brullmann, the museum opened in 2013. A distinctive façade of 16,656 concrete blossoms creates a dynamic interaction of light and shadow on the building.A rooftop patio offering a broad perspective of the city and the lake is another feature of the building.
Tuesdays through Sundays, 10:00 to 18:00; Thursdays, till 20:00. Adult entrance is 9 euros; seniors and students pay 7 euros; children under 12 go in free.Additionally offered at the museum are guided tours, seminars, lectures, and special events.
Kunsthaus Bregenz
International artists’ temporary shows are held in the modern art museum Kunsthaus Bregenz. Member of the Austrian Federal Museums, it was founded in 1997. By offering a platform for creative discussion and experimentation, the museum hopes to encourage public interaction with contemporary art.
The museum is situated in an amazing building designed by multi-award winning Austrian architect Peter Zumthor. Four glass cubes stacked on top of one other and surrounded by a steel frame make up the construction. The building’s straightforward, unambiguous design stands out against the city’s ancient surrounds.One of a kind lighting system in the building also produces different moods according to the season and time of day.
Every one of the four floors that make up the museum has a different display. Among the artistic media at the museum are painting, sculpture, photography, video, installations, and performance. The museum hosts film showings, talks, and concerts as well.Among the artists that have shown at the museum are Marina Abramovi, Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, and Yoko Ono.
Monday through Friday, 08:00 to 18:00; Saturday and Sunday, 09:00 to 15:00. Adult entrance is 10 euros; seniors and students pay 8 euros; children under 12 go in free.Additionally available at the museum are audio guides, guided tours, and a gift shop.
Bildraum Bodensee
Bildraum Bodensee is a cultural facility of Bildrecht, an Austrian association that defends the interests and rights of visual artists. Situated on the Seestraße, near to the Vorarlberg Museum and the Kunsthaus Bregenz, it was formerly a post office. Its establishment in 2014 has as its mission to advance contemporary, experimental, and excellent art from the western parts of Austria and abroad.
About six exhibits are held at Bildraum Bodensee’s gallery space annually, including solo and group shows of a variety of artistic media including painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and video. Furthermore, the gallery presents seminars, educational programs, and artist showcases. The gallery shows the work of both young and experienced artists on an open, value-free basis.Among the artists who have shown at Bildraum Bodensee are Gabi Mitterer, Rainer Prohaska, Sophie Pölzl, and Peter Köllerer.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, the gallery is open from 13:00 to 18:00; Fridays and Saturdays, from 11:00 to 16:00. Entrance is free of charge.Apart from that, the gallery issues a periodical that records the exhibitions and offers details on the artists and their creations.
Bildraum Bodensee offers a forum for creative discussion and interchange as a meeting and engagement place for art and culture. All those interested in the contemporary art scene in Bregenz and the surrounding region should not miss it.
Vorarlberger Landestheater
Vorarlberger Landestheater is the state theatre of the westernmost federal state of Austria, Vorarlberg. Its main office is located in the state capital of Bregenz and was founded in 1945. A permanent performance group and a predetermined schedule for Bregenz and the Vorarlberg region are aspects of it. There is drama, comedy, opera, ballet, and musicals all presented in theaters. It also presents guest performances, festivals, and outdoor events.
Originally a post office and subsequently a movie theater, the theater is built in a historic building. Modern and spacious inside, it was restored and enlarged in 1984 and 2006. The Großes Haus, Kleines Haus und Werkstattbühne are the three stages of the theatre. 522 persons can sit on the Großes Haus, the main stage. 99 persons can sit in the Kleines Haus. The Werkstattbühne is an 80-person capacity multipurpose stage.At the theatre are also a shop, a restaurant, a bar, and a lobby.
The theater’s repertory includes everything from current to classical, regional to worldwide, and serious to humorous. The theater hopes to both evoke the imagination and critical thinking of the audience and represent the variety and originality of society.A few plays that have been staged are Hamlet, The Perfect Moment, All About Me, and The Humanists.
Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 15:00 p.m. The show and seat category determine how much admission costs, although it usually runs from 10 to 40 euros for adults and 5 to 20 euros for elderly and students. There are also coupons, discounts, and subscriptions available at the theatre.The theater provides educational programs, audio guides, and guided tours in addition.
The Vorarlberger Landestheater is a cultural institution offering both residents and tourists a broad and varied theatrical experience. Art and culture converge there, offering a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas. Everybody interested in the theater scene in Bregenz and the surrounding region should definitely watch it.
Vorarlberg State Library
Regional academic institution in Bregenz, Austria, the Vorarlberg State Library was established in 1904 as a division of the Vorarlberg State Archives. It was established independently in 1977 and specializes in the history, culture, and literature of Vorarlberg and the neighboring areas. Among the special collections kept in the library are the Music Collection, Radio and Television Archives, and the Franz Michael Felder Archives.
Within a historic building dating back to the fourteenth century, the library has some 500,000 media items, including books, periodicals, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, multimedia materials, and digital resources. Among the main collecting fields are natural sciences, history, art, philosophy, religion, sociology, psychology, education, and Vorarlberg regional studies and literature.
Special collections of the library, notably the Franz Michael Felder Archives, the Radio and Television Archives, and the Music Collection, document Vorarlberg’s cultural legacy and artistic inventiveness. Among the catalogs and databases that contain these collections are v*Find, Index Search, Recommendations, and Subject Areas.
Among the many services and facilities the library offers to support users’ information needs and learning activities are loans, interlibrary loans, acquisition requests, newsletters, and FAQ services. The library also provides studios, a teaching library, a forum, volare books and images, and a store among other amenities and equipment for the ease and comfort of its patrons.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 17:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Sundays and public holidays are off days at the library. While entrance is free, access to the loan service and other services requires registration for a library card (VLB-Card). One can renew the card online or at the library during its one-year validity. The library also provides audio tours, educational events, and guided tours for groups and individuals who are curious about the library and its holdings.
Churches and Cathedrals in Bregenz
Herz. Jesu Kirche
Situated in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, on Kolpingplatz, the Roman Catholic parish church Bregenz-Herz Jesu is 413 metres above sea level, or about 17 metres over the mean level of Lake Constance.The Bregenz deanery of the Feldkirch diocese includes the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish church.The church’s patron saint is honored on the third Sunday after Pentecost with the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
A three-aisled basilica including two 62-meter-tall brick neo-Gothic towers was constructed on a cross-shaped ground plan.Norman style is evoked by the twin tower facade facing north-west.Approximately twice as tall as the side aisles, the clerestory is the basilica’s most prominent feature.With the clerestory, the main nave lights the cathedral from every angle.An 8-second cathedral-like echo fills the church.
Similar in their neo-Gothic design, the altars were completed shortly before World War I.Among the sculptures and reliefs on the high altar are scenes of Christ’s birth, the Last Supper, Christ as a sacrifice priest, the sacrificial lamb, Christ on the Mount of Olives, and Christ’s ascension.The altars at the four wings honor the Good Shepherd and Saints Mary, Joseph, and Aloysius.
The pulpit was built in 1939–1941.The left transept baptismal font is made of modern Treuchtlingen marble.Modern in design, the Stations of the Cross start on the right aisle in front of the Judas kiss and end on the other side with the angel declaring the resurrection.In the entrance of the basilica stands a cast stone image by Bregenz artist Emil Gehrer depicting St. Anthony of Padua with the Child Jesus.
Parish Church of Bregenz-St. Gallus
Situated on a terrace that falls to the Thalbach and climbs to the Gallusstift and Gebhardsberg, Bregenz-St. Gallus Roman Catholic parish church is part of Bregenz’s Dorf area. The church has a long history that begins in the second half of the fifth century when Irish monk Columbanus of Luxeuil found a ruined chapel and dedicated it to Saint Aurelia. In 1079, the Mehrerau monastery was established, and with it the church. Early Romanesque rectangular building and late Romanesque extension to a three-aisled building were discovered in 1973. Dedication of the church took place in 1380, and it was restored in 1737 with new furnishings. 1939 saw the façade restored, and 1973–1974 saw the interior reconstructed.
Massive baroque construction with side chapels resembling transepts and a steep gabled roof housing a large choir characterize the church. North of the chancel, a baroque chapel and a new sacristy have been constructed. In front of the gable façade lies a big late Gothic tower with three stories and a coffin cornice. Per Sebastian Greuter’s drawings, master bricklayer Michael Kuen and stonemason Hans Jakob Gruber built the tower’s roof between 1672 and 1673.
The church has a flattened lunette ceiling, low side chapels akin to transepts, a retractable triumphal arch, arched windows, and a double gallery held up by four stone columns with three-axis arches.
Bregenz-Mariahilf Parish Church
Built as a heroism recognition church during World War I in the Rieden-Vorkloster neighborhood of Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Bregenz-Mariahilf Roman Catholic parish church is a part of the Bregenz deanery of the Feldkirch diocese. Built between 1925 and 1931, the church was planned by Clemens Holzmeister in 1921. In 1980 Hans Purin completely rebuilt the church’s interior.
The church’s layout incorporates a multi-story tower, a forecourt with pillar arcades, a central church space with nearby choir and side chapels. The church has two semi-circular side chapels, an oval core chamber, and a choir as a conche all covered by tents and hipped roofs. Tented roof and arched windows characterize the five tapering octagonal levels of the eastern tower.
Among the artwork in the church are reliefs by Gudrun Baudisch-Wittke, Albert Bechtold, Leo Sebastian Humer, and others. Gudrun Baudisch-Wittke helped artist Hans Andre build the altar in 1931, which has a sheet silver canopy framework and a statue of Maria with a baby. Furthermore created by Clemens Holzmeister were the tabernacle, processional crucifix, and candlesticks. Apart from the interior of the church, the entrance chapels have statues of Pietà from the 17th century and St. Anthony from the 18th.
Parish Church of Bregenz-St. Gebhard
The Bregenz-St. Gebhard Roman Catholic parish church honors St. Gebhard and is located in the Bregenz neighborhood of Vorkloster, Rieden. Constructed between 1939 and 1941, the church underwent reconstruction by Willibald Braun and his son Wilhelm Braun between 1956 and 1961. The building was dedicated in 1961 after a parish vicariate was founded in 1953.
St. Gebhard separate as a parish in 1983. The altar was moved to an elevated altar island in the nave during a 2011 interior renovation by Christian Lenz, architects. There is a chapel currently in place of the old chancel. The church is a big hall with a self-contained south-east church tower, side walls and facade divided by pilaster strips. Rectangular windows, pilaster strips walls, and a stepped flat ceiling characterize the interior.
Rearranged as a daily chapel, the upper section of the sanctuary is encircled by Hubert Berchtold’s triptych “The movable St. Gebhardsbild”. Emil Gehrer finished the graphical zone of the recessed ceiling in 1961 and it depicts events from St. Gebhard’s life. Currently serving as the daily chapel, the sanctuary had glass paintings by Hubert Berchtold.
Parish Church of Bregenz-St. Kolumban
Rieden, Bregenz, and Weidach are the districts of Vorarlberg, Germany, home to the Bregenz-St. Kolumban Roman Catholic parish church. Part of the Diocese of Feldkirch’s Deanery of Bregenz, it is devoted to Saint Columbanus. Constructed between 1962 and 1966, Hans Burtscher designed the church, parish hall, priest’s residence, and parish kindergarten.
Rhomboid in design, the church has a raised top, a free-standing concrete tower, a parish center, and a mortuary. Within is a hall with a sturdy Hetzerbinder construction and a ceiling fashioned like a moat, with windows made of concrete glass by Wilhelm Derix and Walter Haegele.
Emil Gehrer and Rhomberg-Sieber created the west wall entrance doors; 42 enamel scenes from Jesus’ life are included in the tabernacle. A bronze crucifix, a baptismal font, chandeliers, a processional cross and Stations of the Cross are all part of the chancel. In the church are also a Marian chapel and a Röns sculpture of St. Mary with Child from 1430.
Bregenz-Fluh Parish Church
In the Fluh district of Bregenz, Vorarlberg, lies the Roman Catholic parish church of Bregenz-Fluh.Under the Feldkirch diocese, the St. Wendelin parish church is a part of the Bregenz deanery. In 1666 Bregenz was extended with a chapel. The 1820-built church is an explanation of its design.Restored by architect Gabriel Mallaun in 1846–1847, the church was dedicated in 1849.A parish church was established out of the pilgrimage church in 1872.
A hipped roof joins the nave to a recessed low chancel with a three-eighth note.East tower was assigned to the choir master.East of the tower is a two-story sacristy with a flat hipped roof.The tower with the round-arched sound aperture has a pointed helmet above flat triangular gables and a cornice.
For the high altar, Matthäus Schwachender (1693) painted a portrait of St. Wendelin, the abbot and church patron saint.On the left side is an altar with a picture of St. Maria by Bernhard Müller (1770).On the right side is the altar with Franz Bertle’s (1876) painting of Saint Magnus of Füssen.The picture shows a magnificent pilgrimage scenario with the 1676 St. Wendelin legend.
Seekapelle Bregenz
Dedicated to Saint George and Our Lady, the Seekapelle is a 1663 chapel located in Bregenz, Germany. Situated next to the Leutbühel in the city centre, it is a part of the parish of Bregenz-St. Gallus. Constructed by the lakeside in 1445, the chapel was given by the city of Bregenz to honor the Battle of Bregenz in 1408.
Reconstructed about 1500, the church was expanded about 1644. With master brickwork by Kaspar Held, the current church was constructed between 1696 and 1698 by the Deuring family and the city of Bregenz. Architect Klaus Reininger refurbished the interior between 1989 and 1990.Slanted flat arched windows and a recessed chancel characterize the straightforward nave design of the church. Nickel figures decorate the gateways of its three-story octagonal tower with an onion dome and three sound windows with balustrades.
In the chapel are additional memorial plaques honoring Bregenz dialect poet Kaspar Hagen by Albert Bechtold and Bregenz victims of National Socialist oppression. Divided by pilasters, the chapel is a single-nave prayer space with a retractable chancel and lunette barrel vault above.
Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Meerau
Wettingen-Multierau Territorial Abbey is an Austrian Cistercian abbey close to Bregenz. Being a territorial abbey, the abbey’s abbot is a member of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference. Nestled north of the monastery complex is the church honoring the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The church comprises a rectangular chancel, a gabled roof, a straightforward nave and transept, and a choir fitted to the church tower. The church has a marble tabernacle, a choir organ, a wide, long hall with an open wooden roof truss, a Marian chapel, and a collection of cross-representing sculptures.
The second-floor congregational chapel, honoring St. Bernhard von Clairvaux, is nearly finished. It was dedicated between 1868 and 1888, and has an octagonal tower level with a hood above a square basement, a pitched roof, and a small bell tower. The church has a choir organ, a wooden saddle ceiling, and a collection of cross-figures.
Fountains and monuments in Bregenz
Hugo-von-Montfort-Brunnen
A 1911 monument and fountain, the Hugo-von-Montfort-Brunnen was restored in 1995. Hugo of Montfort was a Bregenz-born poet and nobleman of the fourteenth century who ruled over the Montfort region. The monument was created by Franz Xaver Hauser.
Standing on a pedestal, Hugo of Montfort is shown by a bronze statue carrying a scroll containing his poems. Reliefs illustrating events from his life and work cover the pedestal. Four lesser allegorical sculptures that stand in for the four seasons surround the fountain.
Popular gathering spot and attraction, the fountain is situated in Kornmarktplatz, the city’s largest square. At the fountain are also cultural activities like festivals, readings, and concerts.Nighttime illumination of the fountain makes it accessible all year round.
Neptunbrunnen
The 1892-built Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain) underwent renovations in 2008. Sculptor Anton Schmid created the fountain, which is honoring Neptune, the Roman god of the sea and water.
Neptune is shown in the fountain as a bronze figure perched on a rock with a trident. Four smaller water nymph sculptures, each sporting a water-spouting shell, surround the monument. A circular basin holding the fountain has reliefs of fish and seashells.
Attraction and landmark in the Leutbühel, a little hill close to the city center, is the fountain. Furthermore symbolizing the connection between Bregenz and Lake Constance is the fountain.Nighttime illumination of the fountain makes it accessible all year round.
Hommage an Brigantium
The Hommage a Brigantium (Homage to Brigantium) is a 1997 monument housed at the modern art museum Kunsthaus Bregenz. The monument honoring Brigantium, the ancient Roman settlement that existed before Bregenz, was designed by artist Peter Zumthor.
One enormous concrete cube covered with glass panels makes up the monument. Viewable through the glass is a bronze and wood reproduction of Brigantium housed inside the cube. Sunshine may enter and light the sculpture through a split in the cube.
Situated on the Seestraße, the monument creates a cultural triangle in the heart of the city next to the Vorarlberg Museum and the Kunsthaus Bregenz. Monday through Friday from 08:00 to 18:00; Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 15:00. Entrance is free of charge. At the monument are also talks, exhibitions, and movie showings.
Bründler
Known by another name, The Drinker, the Bründler is a 1928 monument and fountain. 2008 saw repairs to bring it back to its former splendor and usefulness. A drunkard trying to drink from a fountain is the amusing scenario that sculptor Rudolf Weyr created for the monument.
One bronze statue of a guy sitting on a stone bench and clutching a jug makes up the monument. Water is released from the jug straight into the man’s mouth by a water pipe included into the sculpture. Within a rectangle basin with elaborate reliefs of grapes and vines, the fountain is situated.
A curiosity and a draw, the fountain is located on Rathausstraße, close to the St. Gallus parish church and municipal hall. Bregenz’s strong wine culture and lengthy history are poignantly reminded of by the fountain. Open all year round, the fountain is exquisitely lit at night.
Art Galleries in Bregenz
K12 Galerie
Privately held, the K12 Galerie is dedicated to presenting modern art and design. Currently housed in a lovely historic building in the old town, the organization was founded in 2006. Together with gifted designers and architects, the gallery presents a wide variety of artists from both national and international origins. The gallery also offers institutions and collectors advice and consultation services.
Two display rooms at the gallery house furniture and design items in addition to a changing schedule of solo and group exhibitions. Painting, sculpture, photography, printing, and ceramics are just a few of the artistic media represented in the museum.The gallery also plans readings, concerts, and book presentations among other activities.
The gallery is open Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Entrance is free.An online store run by the gallery allows you to buy books, accessories, and art prints.
Magazin 4 - Bregenzer Kunstverein
Contemporary art and culture exhibitions and activities are the main emphasis of the art association Magazin 4 – Bregenzer Kunstverein. Currently housed in a disused warehouse building in the center of the city, the organization was founded in 1989. Encouragement of the local art scene’s expansion and development is the association’s main objective. It also strives to build a solid network of local institutions, curators, and artists.
The group runs a gallery where around six shows are held a year. The artwork in these shows is by both established and up-and-coming artists from Vorarlberg and neighboring areas. The shows include painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, and installations among other subjects and genres.Furthermore, the group plans educational events, seminars, and artist presentations.
Tuesday through Friday from 14:00 to 18:00, and Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00, are the hours of operation of the gallery. Entrance is free.The group also issues a magazine that features information about the artists and their works in addition to documentation of the shows.
Galerie Arthouse
Showcasing contemporary art from around the world and from the area is the specialty of the Galerie Arthouse. Currently housed in a refurbished post office building in the center of the city, the organization was founded in 1994. Supporting and showcasing the regional art scene is the gallery’s main objective. It also looks to encourage relationships and joint ventures between institutions, curators, and artists.
The large exhibition space of the gallery hosts about six shows a year. The artworks of both seasoned and up-and-coming Vorarlberg and international artists are highlighted in these shows. Painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, installation, and video are just a few of the many subjects and genres included in the shows.Furthermore, the gallery plans workshops, educational events, and artist presentations.
The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 14:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00. Entrance is free.Apart from organising shows, the gallery also issues a magazine that acts as a record of these shows. Regarding the artists and their works, the journal offers insightful information.
