Vorderland-Feldkirch region
The Vorderland-Feldkirch region is located in western Austria in the state of Vorarlberg on the Swiss border. Politically and administratively, the 13 municipalities belong to the Feldkirch district . From an urban geographic or urban sociological point of view, the region could be described as an intermediate town , urban region or agglomeration . A total of 65,027 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2016) live in the Vorderland-Feldkirch region on an area of around 178 km². Because of the fertile soils and the mild climate, the region is also called the "Garden of Vorarlberg".
Location and topography
The border of today's Vorderland-Feldkirch region (see history) runs in the west along the Rhine . In the north the border is less clear, also for historical reasons. Purely in terms of settlement structure, the Tschütsch and the Sattelwald near Klaus form a clear boundary to the “ Am Kumma ” region. In the east, the border to Dornbirn and the Bregenzerwald runs over the ridge with the watershed Hohe Kugel - Hoher Freschen - Furkajoch - Spoonspitze . The Furkajoch is the only direct road crossing to the Bregenzerwald. In the south, the Walserkamm as well as the Ill and the old district between the territories of Schellenberg and Tosters form the border to Walgau and the Principality of Liechtenstein . The maximum west-east extension is about 24 km. The north-south extension is about 12 km.
In the west, the region is characterized by the course of the Rhine with its former alluvial surface and the mouths of the Ill and Frutz , which led to a very flat landscape with alluvial forest and reed areas, but also strengthened the fertility of the soil. Towards the east, the mountain ranges of the Walserkamm and the Bregenzerwald occupy an important position. The alluvial cones of the Frutz, Frödisch and Ratzbach rivers form the transition between plains and mountains . The landscape is divided into various small valleys and ravines by rivers and channels , of which the Laternsertal is the largest and best known.
Community structure
The communities in the Vorderland-Feldkirch region are very heterogeneous in terms of both population and location and can be divided into the communities in the valley and the communities on the slope. A special case is Zwischenwasser, which consists of three larger cadastral communities, one of which is in the valley (Muntlix) and two on the slope (Batschuns, Dafins).
| Valley communities | Residents | Hillside communities | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Klaus | 3.114 | 8. Göfis | 3,252 |
| 2nd hamlet | 2,098 | 9. Oversaxing | 639 |
| 3. Röthis | 1.926 | 10. Laterns | 662 |
| 4. Sulz | 2,558 | 11. Between water | 3.223 |
| 5. Rankweil | 11,734 | 12. Viktorsberg | 410 |
| 6. Meiningen | 2,150 | 13. Fraxern | 688 |
| 7. Feldkirch | 32,543 |
Traffic development
The Vorderland-Feldkirch region is very well developed by both private and public transport . The Rheintal / Walgau Autobahn A14 runs through the region and is linked to the region by three full connections in Klaus, Rankweil and Feldkirch. Likewise, with the L190, L50 and L52, three state roads of supraregional importance run through the region.
The ÖBB rail network has also been running through the region since the end of the 19th century with train stations in Feldkirch, Rankweil and Klaus as well as stops in Tisis, Gisingen, Altenstadt, Amberg and Sulz / Röthis. The entire Rhine Valley and Walgau can be reached through the rail link, as well as Switzerland, Germany and the east of Austria. Nearby international airports are in Zurich and Munich , as well as in Altenrhein (CH), Memmingen and Friedrichshafen (both D).
Local public transport in the region is ensured by the Feldkirch city bus and the Upper Rhine Valley regional bus, with the hillside communities also being connected to the bus network. For several years there has also been a night bus and on-call bus network, which also connects the hillside communities.
Historical summary
Origin of the term
A clear historical evidence for the first mention of the designation "Vorderland", as well as a precise delimitation of the designated territory have not been successful until today. The former state archivist Dr. Benedikt Bilgeri mentions the year 1412 as the first mention of the term in his work "The Free People in the Front Country", although there is no mention of a document or any other historical source. According to Dr. Bilgeri is the "Vorderland" the designation for the "frontal part of the country, namely the old Walgau or Drusiana Valley." Rankweil, Sulz, Röthis, Viktorsberg). In this list of goods, the municipalities of the Vorderland are listed under “ministerium in pago vallis drusiana”.
The borderline of the region is well documented in the west, south and east, which makes it clear that the city of Feldkirch is also in the fore. In the north there is a clear border, at least less clear from today's perspective. Werner Vogt names the "Bützengraben" between Altach and Hohenems , which until 1816 was also the border of the dioceses of Chur and Constance , as the northern border line. Even after Bilgeri the Vorderland runs from Göfis to Hohenems, which means that the communities of Götzis, Altach, Mäder and Koblach would also belong to the Vorderland.
The double court Rankwei-Sulz, which existed until the 19th century and covers exactly the area defined by Bilgeri, with the exception of the city of Feldkirch and the Neuburg (near Koblach) plays an important role in the delimitation of the Vorderland . The term double court is used because there were two places of jurisdiction, one in Rankweil and one in Sulz, but only one Landammann . Accordingly, when the Vorderland was presumably first mentioned in 1412, some areas on the left bank of the Rhine in Switzerland must have belonged to the Vorderland until the Peace of Basel (1499) and the defection of the places on the left bank of the Rhine by the Rankweil-Sulz court.
The region over time
Despite the unclear definition and delimitation of the region, the present-day Vorderland-Feldkirch region was already settled in the Neolithic , as various archaeological finds show. The first named people to appear were the Rhaetians , who were taken over by the Romans in 15 BC. Were beaten. The activities of the Romans in the region are still visible today, for example in the Roman villa in Brederis or in the former rest station Clunia in what is now Altenstadt. A Roman road also crossed the Vorderland, which led from Bregenz to Chur and ran roughly along today's Montfortstrasse in Rankweil and the old country road in Sulz.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the frontier was in the possession of the Franks , with the Merovingian family (from around 537) and then the Carolingian family (from around 750) ruling. From the 5th to the 9th century, monks from Ireland were also active in the region, including St. Eusebius and St. Fridolin . From 1200, with Hugo I von Montfort, the Montforters ruled in the fore. Feldkirch was elevated to a town under the Montforters, and the Schattenburg and Alt-Montfort were built in Weiler. Count Rudolf V. von Montfort (from 1375) founded the Minorite monastery in Viktorsberg and then sold the Feldkirch rule to Duke Leopold of Austria , which means that "the mountain to Ranckweil with the regional court and other courts there ..." falls to Austria.
The Vorderland remained with Austria until 1806. After the Napoleonic Wars , the fore, like all of Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg , came into the possession of the Kingdom of Bavaria through the Peace of Pressburg . During this time, the old court in Rankweil-Sulz was dissolved by the Bavarian municipal edict and replaced by the local and unified municipalities (Niederstätter, 2008, p. 164). After numerous uprisings during this time, Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg came back to Austria in 1814, only Weiler in the Allgäu remained, as the corridor to Lindau still in Bavaria.
The community structure introduced during the Bavarian rule has been preserved to this day, apart from a few amalgamations or amalgamations: In 1925, the city of Feldkirch was incorporated into the current districts of Levis , Altenstadt , Gisingen , Nofels , Tosters and Tisis .
On March 11, 1938, when Austria was annexed to Germany , the Vorderland came under the rule of the NSDAP . The referendum was held on April 10, 1938, which in Rankweil, for example, turned out to be 2136 votes in favor to 36 against. Like all of Vorarlberg, the Vorderland was largely spared from warfare until 1945, although a large number of Vorderland men and women served in one form or another in the German Wehrmacht. All Vorarlbergers who died in World War I or II are listed in books in the war memorial chapel in the Rankweiler basilica. The graves and an obelisk, in memory of 37 Soviet prisoners of war who died in captivity, are located in the Valduna cemetery in Rankweil. After the surrender of the German Reich on May 8, 1945 to July 27, 1955, the Vorderland was part of the French zone of occupation in Austria.
economy
The regional economic structure has been industrial since the end of the 19th century, with the textile industry dominating until the 1980s . Since its decline, the region, like the entire Rhine Valley, has been able to withstand structural change and adapt to the new circumstances. Some buildings from the heyday of the textile industry in the region have been preserved, such as the Ganahl site in Feldkirch or today's industrial park in Rankweil. Today the region is characterized by a diversified small and medium-sized company structure.
The economic sector structure of the Vorderland-Feldkirch region is very much shaped by the manufacturing industry. Almost 20% of the employees in the region work in this branch, which makes up only 7% of the business premises. The operating areas of the region extend along the course of the L190, A14 and the railway line between Klaus and Feldkirch. Larger employers in this area include Omicron electronics and Rauch fruit juices . In addition to industry , trade also plays an important role in the region with over 15% of employees and almost 20% of the operating facilities.
Agriculture
From a purely statistical point of view, agriculture plays only a subordinate role (1.5% of employees), but the region has always been known for its fertile soils. The region's soils are among the most productive in the entire Rhine Valley, with yield values of largely over 600 euros per hectare (vision Rheintal, 2006, p. 40). From a historical perspective as well as from a cultural landscape perspective, fruit growing with its orchards also plays an important role in the region. Also the viticulture was very strong until the mid-19th century, as decreed Rankweil in the 18th century over about 33 hectares of wine-growing region. Wine was and is also grown on the Ardetzenberg in Feldkirch or on the slopes of Röthis and Klaus. Röthis is the only municipality in the region in which wine has been grown continuously since it was first mentioned in a document in 842 until today.
tourism
Just like agriculture, recreational tourism does not play a major role in the region. The hotels and restaurants play an important role for business travelers to the companies located in the region. The leisure facilities in the region also play a rather minor role from a purely tourist perspective. However, they play a very important role in the local recreation of the region's residents. Because of its diversity, the region has, on the one hand, wide reed areas and riparian forests that are perfect for jogging or cycling. On the other hand, the hillside communities are ideal starting points for mountain hikes of various degrees of difficulty and distances. There are also family-friendly ski areas that are easy to reach from the valley and where many of the region's residents have learned to ski. In 2007 the first 9 holes of today's 18-hole golf course in Rankweiler Weitried were opened.
education
The educational institutions in the Vorderland-Feldkirch region are diverse, some of them are of national importance and, due to their central function, are mainly spread across the town of Feldkirch and the market town of Rankweil. Both Rankweil and Feldkirch are locations of state hospitals and have nursing schools, whereby the location in Rankweil specializes in psychiatry . The city of Feldkirch is also home to the State Conservatory for Vorarlberg, the Vorarlberg University of Education and the St. Josef Institute (Higher Education Institute for Business Professions (HLW) and Educational Institute for Kindergarten Education (BAKIP)). Feldkirch is also the location of two (secondary) grammar schools. There is also a CPR in Rankweil and also a higher technical federal teaching and research institute (HTL). Other educational institutions include an educational center in Zwischenwasser and the seminar and cultural center Stiftung Kloster Viktorsberg.
Culture and customs
Analogous to the educational institutions, many cultural events and institutions also radiate far beyond the borders of the region. The best known are certainly the annual pool bar festival, the Messer ArtDesign and the Theater am Saumarkt in Feldkirch and the old cinema in Rankweil. Another highlight is the “Open Hair Festival” in Göfis. From a religious and cultural perspective, the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the bishopric of Feldkirch, the Liebfrauenberg Church in Rankweil, which was elevated to a minor basilica in 1985, and the aforementioned Viktorsberg monastery are of far-reaching importance. In addition to the large, nationally relevant, event halls Montforthaus in Feldkirch and the Vinomnasaal in Rankweil, the other communities in the region also have multipurpose event rooms.
In addition to the modern, urban festivals and event venues, various customs are still actively cultivated. The traditional burning of sparks , which has been an intangible World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2010, takes place every year in all municipalities in the region. It is organized by the spark guilds, but no longer traditionally takes place everywhere on Spark Sunday (1st Sunday after Ash Wednesday), but sometimes also on the Saturday before. In addition to the spark, the carnival parade and the carnival guilds and guilds are an important part of the region's customs, with the carnival parade being held in individual communities every two years.
Regional development
Since 1978, the twelve Vorderland communities have been working together under the umbrella of the regional planning community (regionally) Vorderland in regionally important subject areas. With the inclusion of the city of Feldkirch in the region in 2010, the cooperation is called "Region Vorderland-Feldkirch". In the more than 35 years of cooperation, a large number of projects in different subject areas have been implemented. In the area of administrative cooperation, the region is very successful with its joint building rights administration and financial administration.
Other important projects, for example in the field of mobility, are the Upper Rhine Valley Landbus and the joint transport concept, as well as the Vorderland cycle route concept. One of the first and to this day most successful projects is the Vorderlandhus social center in Röthis, which has existed since 1984 and formed the first social district in Vorarlberg. The Frutzau adventure pool in Sulz, which was built in 1956 and was the first voluntary cooperation between communities in Vorarlberg after the Second World War, was also groundbreaking.
literature
- B. Bilgeri: The free people in the fore. around 1955, OCLC 794590675 .
- Märk Kessler: Rankweil in the mirror of history. Rankweil 1993, ISBN 3-901469-04-4 .
- Ulrich Nachbaur: From the stands to the communities. In: Vorarlberger Landesarchiv (Ed.): 200 years of community organization in Vorarlberg. Bregenz 2009, DNB 990 370 275 .
- Alois Niederstätter: From ban guards and village bailiffs. In: Vorarlberger Landesarchiv (Ed.): 200 years of community organization in Vorarlberg. Bregenz 2009, DNB 990 370 240 .
- Vision Rhine Valley. Documentations 2006. Bregenz 2006, ISBN 978-3-9502217-0-1 .
- Werner Vogt (arr.): Vorderland. (= Vorarlberg field names book . Volume 5). 1991, OCLC 632146018 .
Web links
- A look at the municipalities - http://www.statistik.at
- Vorarlberg Chronik - http://www.vorarlberg.at/chronik/
- Website of the association "Region Vorderland-Feldkirch" - http://www.vorderland.com/