Activities around Lake Constance and Vorarlberg

The slender pink and white tower of Birnau’s exuberant baroque church rises skywards in the middle of scenic vineyards high above the lake. When standing on the viewing platform in front of the church it is easy to understand why this place has become one of the most popular destinations for tourists and marriages.

Welcome to Lake Constance and Bregenz’s unique lakefront amphitheater. With an intoxicating enjoyment of art that truly appeals to all the senses, the Festival never ceases to charm its audiences through and through every summer.

A Jewish community lived and worked in Hohenems for over 300 years. The community was at its peak in the first half of the 19th century when they contributed to the economic resurgence of the region. In 1850 the community numbered over 500 men, women and children, one sixth of the total population of the town.

The Bregenz Art Gallery, or “KUB” as it is known locally, was designed by the renowned Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The building, which has been awarded several prizes for its architecture, is one pf the world’s most prominent museum buildings. Designed as a daylight museum, the structure captivates the viewer with its striking external shape and the uncompromising implementation of its spatial concept.

The miraculous image dates back to approximately 1390. For the first few centuries it was located on a rocky ledge below the village.  The veneration of the image of the blessed virgin Mary (“image on the stone”) later gave rise to the name “Bildstein” (“image stone”).

The walls of the Meersburg, Germany’s oldest inhabited castle, could tell many a tale: stories of peaceful courtly times but also warfare and sieges. Visitors can gain an idea of these times from a well-guided tour of the castle museum.

A small town with a lot to offer. Not just its wonderful setting and romantic nooks and crannies but also the many museums make this town “punch above its weight”. Meersburg, the “museum town” invites the visitor to step back into the Middle Ages or learn about the Droste-Hülshoff family as well as to marvel at the splendors of the baroque era and its art collections. You can learn about the town’s history and viticulture, stories from the bible and the history of aeronautics.

A total of 3000 square meters of display area spread over three floors enable the visitor to learn all about the history Rolls-Royce. Every Rolls-Royce is unique and every vehicle can look back over its own very exciting history associated with the cream of the world’s aristocracy.

Feldkirch (population 30,000), Austria’s most westerly town, is home to a local history museum housed in the Schattenburg Castle which is well-known outside Austria’s borders. The name is derived from “schatte” or “schad”, the meaning of which approximate to “protection” or “shelter”. The castle was built about 750 years ago and up to 1390 was the ancestral seat of the Counts of Montfort-Feldkirch.

The town’s landmark. Visit the exhibitions in St Martin’s Tower (Martinsturm) and from the tower’s viewing gallery marvel at the panoramic view over Bregenz and the Upper Town, the Pfänder mountain close to the town, the mountains of Switzerland and, of course, Lake Constance.

The exhibition brings a century of exciting aerospace history to life. Visitors are fascinated by the museum’s extraordinary architecture and unusual exhibits, and their minds set racing by the many different events and special guided tours.

If the audience forgets that it is “only” marionettes they are watching as the marionettes act out the drama on the stage, the puppeteers of the Maronettenoper (Maronette Opera) have achieved the goal they set out to achieve. Only when the audience believes that they hear the marionettes breathe or that they can see their faces express joy or sorrow, happiness or pain is the drama complete. Coming as close as possible to the marionettes’ human role models lies at the heart of the Marionettenoper’s philosophy.

The Unteruhldingen Pfahlbaumuseum is an archaeological open air museum on the shores of Lake Constance with an adjacent indoor museum. Situated in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen in Germany’s state of Baden-Württemberg, the museum includes reconstructions of the Stone Age and Bronze Age dwellings built on piles in the lake and also displays archaeological finds from the site. It is Germany’s oldest open air museum.

The repertoire of the State Theater (Landestheater) in the Theater im Kornmarkt extends from the classics to novel pieces for children. Established in 1945, the theater’s program includes up to 15 premieres per year.

The range of exhibits in the State Museum drawn from the museum’s varied collection extends from archaeological finds dating back to Bregenz’s Roman period, trends in the history of Vorarlberg in the last two centuries and finally to an artistic presentation of talking images of many of Vorarlberg’s inhabitants.

The Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen is unique in the world. It accommodates the world’s largest collection of items relating to airship aviation and airship technology.