The city of Bregenz and the Bregenzerwald in Vorarlberg are a stellar cultural region without parallel. The reason? Nature is the source of inspiration for noteworthy art and culture. It has been for centuries.
Bregenz is a cultural city on the banks of Lake Constance and located in an international region that comprises parts of Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Austria. The vastness of the lake and the surrounding mountains shape the life in Vorarlberg’s capital city, which stands out with a refreshing, international array of cultural offerings.
30 minutes southeast, in the 23 villages comprising the Bregenzerwald region, this special relationship between art and nature is apparent again. Here, locals have always lived in harmony with the Alpine landscape and it is part of their philosophy to look after and respect what mother nature has to give. They are confident and independent people, proud of their roots yet open for change. The creative results are quite something to behold.
As soon as you arrive here, you notice that in the Bregenzerwald, people build and live differently. Ornate, traditional, wooden houses stand right next to modern wooden structures with stylish large glass windows or gloriously creative bus stops. Let’s embark on a tour of this fascinating place.
In the Bregenzerwald, everyone agrees: Wood can make dreams come true. Traditional crafts here developed in such a way as to leave plenty of room for creativity when it comes to designing living spaces. Architects, craftsmen and builders get both inspiration and materials directly from nature. And they prefer to work with local resources, that is, with wood that you could hug when it was still growing.
How do the Bregenzerwald locals today embrace this building tradition? We asked Georg Bechter, architect and light-designer from Hittisau, and gained fascinating insights into this special form of art.
The Werkraum Bregenzerwald is the meeting point of an innovative, design-oriented group of craftspeople. It is also a place to showcase the local crafts and design culture.
Delicious mountain cheese, modern wood architecture, concerts amid rolling meadows: the different walks „Umgang Bregenzerwald“ offer an intimate view of the region.
A glass pavilion, a jumbled wood pile, a forest of sticks with stairs: the bus stops in Krumbach are delightful surprises.
Peter Fetz is a true Schwarzenberg native. He has worked in Paris, London and Vienna. Then he started to miss his beloved mountains and the genuine appreciation of nature and wood.
„Crafts are our lifeblood: We have crafts in our thoughts, in our talented, practiced hands. Most importantly: We embraced crafts in our hearts.”
In Bregenz and the Bregenzerwald it is not only the local woods that inspire unusual art. The picturesque landscapes around Lake Constance and the Alps also influence local music.
Schubert’s music was exclusively played at intimate house soirees, famously known as Schubertiaden. Today the composer’s concerts are very much intact.
Read more„The people of the Bregenzerwald are at once very traditional and very progressive. I knew that I would encounter progress here, but they keep surprising me time and again.“
There are many legends around the strength and bravery of local women during past wars. Today, the focus of these stories lies on the strength of female art.
Angelika Kauffmann’s biography has all the elements necessary for a person to achieve cult-status.
„Local tree varieties flourish in the Bregenzerwald to the extent that one has to do very little to help. We only have to take care not to mess up. Then nature helps us and we help nature.“
