Vorarlberg
The capital of Vorarlberg is Bregenz (29,698 inhabitants), although Dornbirn (49,845 inhabitants) and Feldkirch (34,192 inhabitants) have larger populations. Vorarlberg is also the only state in Austria in which the local dialect is not Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore has much more in common culturally with (historically) Alemannic-speaking German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Baden-Württemberg, Bavarian Swabia, and Alsace than with the rest of Austria, southeastern Bavaria, and South Tyrol.
Vorarlberg is to a large extent mountainous. About 37% (97,000 hectares) of its surface is forest.
Vorarlberg literally means 'before the Arlberg'. The name Arl or Arlberg can be traced back to 1218 in various spellings (Arle, Arlen, Mons Arula, Arlenperge) and is derived from the numerous Arlen bushes there, the so-called mountain pines.
Its nickname is Ländle ('small land'). The frame of reference for this was the much larger and more populous County of Tyrol, from which the small district west of the Arlberg tried to detach itself. In 1861, Vorarlberg was finally raised to a crown land with his own state parliament. On the way to the detachment from Tyrol, the identification with the 'Ländle' remained of great importance.
Map - Vorarlberg
Map
Country - Austria
Flag of Austria |
Austria emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium. Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453. In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire's administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the dominant member of the German Confederation. The empire's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the end of the Confederation and paved the way for the establishment of Austria-Hungary a year later.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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HR | Croatian language |
DE | German language |
HU | Hungarian language |
SL | Slovene language |