Editor's tips

14 unique museums

Tips for unusual museums in Vorarlberg – from the Vorarlberg Museum to Austria’s only women’s museum

The world-famous Kunsthaus Bregenz, housed in a glass cube on Lake Constance, showcases contemporary art. The modern vorarlberg museum in the centre of Bregenz, along with numerous museums throughout the region, offers insights into the history and present day of Vorarlberg. You can experience nature in the truest sense of the word at the interactive nature exhibition inatura in Dornbirn. Austria’s only women’s museum focuses on art by women and is deeply rooted in the region.

Highlights

Fancy visiting an unusual museum?

01 Kunsthaus Bregenz

The Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB), designed by the renowned Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, is one of the leading venues for contemporary art in Europe and worldwide!
- Further information about the Kunsthaus Bregenz
02 vorarlberg museum

The new museum building designed by Cukrowicz Nachbaur Architects, situated right in the heart of Bregenz city centre, features permanent exhibitions on cultural history, temporary themed exhibitions and stunning views. The eye-catching feature is the façade, which is adorned with thousands of concrete flowers.
- Further information about the vorarlberg museum
03 Frauenmuseum Hittisau

Das einzige Frauenmuseum in Österreich zeigt wechselnde Ausstellungen in prämierter Architektur im Bregenzerwald. Seit über 20 Jahren ein besonderer und mehrfach ausgezeichneter Ort der Begegnung.
- Further information about the Frauenmuseum
04 Vorarlberger Museumswelt Frastanz

The Vorarlberg Museum World in Frastanz is a unique museum project. Located on the site of the former Ganahl textile factory, it brings together seven diverse museums and collections covering a range of topics under one roof. Across more than 2,500 m² of exhibition space, it presents the fundamentals of science and technology in an engaging way, offering an overview of their historical development. Exciting and interesting for all ages.
- Vorarlberger Museumwelt Frastanz (german information)
05 Jüdisches Museum Hohenems

For 25 years, the Jewish Museum Hohenems, housed in the Villa Heimann-Rosenthal in the heart of the former Jewish quarter, has been collecting artefacts relating to Jewish history in Vorarlberg and the Lake Constance region.
- Website of the Jewish Museum Hohenems
06 inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn

inatura – das besondere Museum für Kinder in Vorarlberg. Angreifen und ausprobieren, experimentieren und staunen ist das Motto der interaktiven Naturschau in Dornbirn. Themen rund um Natur, Mensch und Technik begeistern Jung und Alt.
- Website of the inatura Naturschau Dornbirn (Nature Exhibition)
07 Schattenburg Museum, Feldkirch

The famous Schattenburg in Feldkirch, the town’s landmark, houses a museum that was only recently expanded and redesigned in 2010. It is now one of the largest museums in the state of Vorarlberg. The Schattenburg was built around 750 years ago. A tour of the medieval castle is an experience for the whole family. The arrowslits also offer a beautiful view of the medieval town of Feldkirch.
- Website of the Schattenburgmuseum Feldkirch
08 Juppenwerkstatt

‘Juppe’ is the name given to the centuries-old traditional costume that accompanies the women of the Bregenzerwald throughout their lives and is eventually passed down to future generations. At the Juppe workshop in the centre of Riefensberg, tradition and modernity have come together. In the traditional costume museum, visitors can gain an insight into the intricate process of making a Bregenzerwald women’s costume.
- Website of the Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg (german only)
- Tradition und Handwerk – Ein Besuch in der Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg
09 Montafon museums

What was life like in the Montafon? A 500-year-old house on the church square in Schruns shows just how the people of the Montafon used to live and work. The Gaschurn Alpine and Tourism Museum presents the valley’s history of tourism, and at the Silbertal Mining Museum you can learn all about silver mining in the Montafon.
- Montafon museums
10 Barockbaumeister Museum Au

In the 17th and 18th centuries, master builders from the Bregenzerwald constructed some 800 Baroque buildings, mostly churches and monasteries, in southern Germany, Switzerland and Alsace, thereby achieving a reputation that endures to this day.
- Further information about the Baroque Master Builder Museum (german only)
Learn more
11 Schubertiade Museen

Nowhere else can you find as much on display about Franz Schubert and his key contemporaries as in the two Schubert museums in Hohenems. The Franz Schubert Museum and the Schubertiade Museum offer an overview of the great composer’s life and the history of his reception across more than 20 historic rooms. The Nibelungen Museum focuses on the rediscovery of manuscripts C and A of the Nibelungenlied at Hohenems Palace, Richard Wagner’s music drama Der Ring des Nibelungen, and other significant adaptations of the Nibelungen theme for stage and film.
- Schubertiade-Quartier Hohenems, the Schubertiade museums
12 Rhein-Schauen - Museum und Rheinbähnle

Seit über 25 Jahren erzählt „Rhein-Schauen“ in Lustenau anhand von Plänen, Modellen, Fotos und Dokumenten die Geschichte jenes Rhein-Abschnitts, der die Grenze zwischen Vorarlberg und der Schweiz bildet und dann den Bodensee durchfließt. Das histroische Rheinbähnle, eine Elektrolokomotive aus den 1940er Jahrens (an manchen Terminen auch eine Dampflok von 1910 bzw. 1920) fährt durch die vielfältige Landschaft im Naturschutzgebiet am Bodensee.
- Website of the Rheinschauen Museum and the Rheinschauen Railway
13 Stadtmuseum Dornbirn

Das Stadtmuseum Dornbirn ist in dem 200 Jahre alten Patrizierhaus, dem Lorenz-Rhomberg-Haus, direkt am Marktplatz untergebracht. zeigt wechselnde Sammelausstellungen zum Thema „Erbe & Erben“. Mal größer und mal kleiner, aber immer spannend. Die Ergebnisse dieser Ausstellungen fließen in die geplante Neuaufstellung des Museums mit ein.
- Website of the Stadtmuseum Dornbirn (german only)

Vorarlberg

14 unique museums

Fancy visiting an unusual museum?

01 Kunsthaus Bregenz

02 vorarlberg museum

03 Frauenmuseum Hittisau

04 Vorarlberger Museumswelt Frastanz

05 Jüdisches Museum Hohenems

06 inatura - Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn

07 Schattenburg Museum, Feldkirch

08 Juppenwerkstatt

09 Montafon museums

10 Barockbaumeister Museum Au

11 Schubertiade Museen

12 Rhein-Schauen - Museum und Rheinbähnle

13 Stadtmuseum Dornbirn

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