Historical Buildings in Bregenz (Self Guided), Bregenz

The Vorarlberg Land Theater, located on a site formerly used for trading grain, was built in the 1840s. After restorations, in 1955 the Vorarlberg Theatre, founded in 1946, moved into the building. This theater has a season full of performances and also hosts events during the summer.

City Hall, located on Rathausstrasse in the Lower Town, was built to store grain in 1686 and has been used for local government since 1810. Its facade was reconstructed in 1898, on the occasion of Franz Josef’s semi-centenary regency, in the late Renaissance style. The concrete exterior is topped with bright green copper domes.

The small 16th century Deuring Castle, located in southwestern Bregenz, now serves as a hotel and gourmet restaurant. The present structure was developed based on the former medieval construction. Belonging to the von Deuring family in the late 1600s, the surviving brickwork was turned into a wonderful Baroque complex. Restored in 1989, this historic architecture preserves the local culture.

The Old Town Hall, located on Eponastrasse near Deuring Castle and St. Martin’s Tower, is a rather eye-catching house to passersby. This large yellow A-frame timber house dating back to the 17th century has an impressive gable roof with red and white shutters. It now serves as a private residence.

The first chapel of Thalbach priory dates back to 1436. In 1575 it became a monastery. Some of the monastery’s latest structures were built from 1609 to 1677 in the early Baroque style. In 1592 the precious image of the Blessed Virgin, "Sedes Sapientiae," was gifted to it. This late 13th century statue is one of the most significant works in the Bodensee area. It also has frescoes and wooden sculptures of saints. Formerly a home for Dominican nuns, today it serves as a school and hosts the Catholic Women’s Organization.

Federal High School, on Gallusstrasse, is Bregenz’s linguistic high school. In 1878 the Dominican monastery founded a private convent school, predecessor to the current Bundesgymnasium. In 1935 it was the Women’s Liceum and High School and a school for boys in 1944. In 1982 it became a school for language studies. The current building, established in 1913, is an example of Schwabach Rural architecture. It also has a weather station on its roof which reports meteorological data for Vorarlberg.

The Vorarlberg State Library inherited the former convent of the Benedictines at the base of Gebhardsberg Mountain. Founded in 1904 as a branch of the Vorarlberg Land Archive, in 1977 it was named the Vorarlberg Land Library, an information center providing documentation, communication and coordination for regional education. Its dome is a copy of the one at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. It possesses a well-preserved 1616 copy of "Emser Chronik," a masterpiece of printing, which is considered the most beautiful book printed in Vorarlberg.

The Evangelist Church, located in the center of the city on the site of a former Roman settlement, was built in 1864. Designed by architect Carl Leins in the Neo-Gothic style, it has the nave with an integrated transept under the gabled roof and a tower on the north side. It has a wooden framework and inside you will find a monument to fallen soldiers, with a stone rood created by Albert Bechtold in 1923. Roman artifacts which became the basis of the Vorarlberg Land Museum’s collection were found here while the church's foundation was being laid.

Located on the outskirts of Bregenz, it is believed that the first monastery erected on this site was built by Saint Columbanus in the 7th century. During the 11th century it was completely rebuilt, and after the Thirty Years War as well. This Roman Catholic monastery was closed at the beginning of the 19th century and many of its buildings were sold at auction. In 1859 a Neo-Romanesque church was built. The Mehrerau Monastery is still owned by the Cistercian Order, housing a boarding school, sanatorium, farm and Klosterkeller restaurant.