General information

Culture Hotspot

Art and culture lovers find rich pickings in Vorarlberg, with events from the Bregenz Festival and inspiring exhibitions to the Philosophicum in Lech. The venues are spread all over Vorarlberg, from the floating stage on Lake Constance to concert halls that offer panoramic views of surrounding nature.

A host of festivals

The Bregenz Festival is a must-see for visitors from all over the world. The largest festival in Vorarlberg by far, it has been staging opera performances on the lakeside stage ever since 1946. The festival programme also features orchestra concerts – usually performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the festival’s orchestra since its inception – as well as operatic productions at the Festspielhaus Bregenz and a series of other music and theatre events.

The Schubertiade Schubert festival equally draws an international audience. At several dates, lieder recitals and concerts are hosted in Schwarzenberg in Bregenzerwald. The Schwarzenberg concert hall is unique for its views of alpine pastures and woods. The second festival venue is Hohenems. Three times a year, the Montforter Zwischentöne festival welcomes visitors on several days or nights to music salons, concerts and talks in Feldkirch. In summer, this medieval town doubles as venue for the poolbar festival, a six-week series of popular culture events. The Montafoner Resonanzen concerts, the Lech Classic Festival, Bezau Beatz and Klassik Krumbach complete the summer programme, to name just a few.

For lovers of contemporary dance, the “Bregenzer Frühling” stages Austrian premieres and new works of renowned international dance companies. During the winter season, you can listen to music gigs in hotel salons, on open-air stages or sun terraces on the ski runs during events such as Tanzcafé Arlberg, Firnklang Brandnertal and Ski & Concert in Warth in Bregenzerwald.

Art venues

Museums host interesting exhibitions all year round on times past and present. Designed by the famous Swiss Architect Peter Zumthor, Kunsthaus Bregenz is a premier museum of contemporary art. Just a stone’s throw away, you will find the vorarlberg museum which is dedicated to local themes from the Lake Constance area and boasts an eye-catching façade that is adorned by more than 16,000 flowers made of concrete. The Women’s Museum in Hittisau throws a glimpse at the way women live. The Angelika Kauffmann Museum in Schwarzenberg showcases works by the famous Classicist paintress by the same name as well as the Jewish Museum in Hohenems which evokes the Jewish history of Hohenems.

Talks

FAQ Bregenzerwald is a forum-like festival with culinary highlights. Hosted in September, visitors are invited to take part in talks, debates, concerts and hikes. For many years, Philosophicum Lech, equally in September, has been addressing the burning issues of our times.