Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest)
AustriaBundesdenkmalamt
Vorarlberg
Cultural landscapes
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Description
An impressive landscape on the north side of the Alps, the Bregenzerwald has largely maintained its traditional farming structure including the specific types of farmstead buildings. In the long-stretched linear or nucleated villages many of the characteristic Bregenzerwald farmsteads of the 18th and 19th centuries have been conserved. They reflect in their shapes and styles the economic history of the country, the regional agricultural conditions, but also the early onset of industrial development in Vorarlberg which is embodied in the rural architecture of the time. Many small textile processing workshops in the farming milieu are a testimony to this development. A number of villages, such as Thal, Schwarzenberg, or Schoppernau, still have some fine examples of original "Walderhauser" (Forest Houses) to illustrate this largest and most uniform housing landscape of Vorarlberg. The wooden buildings covered by characteristic shingle roofing determine the appearance of the cultural landscape, and their various types and shapes document the economic and cultural development of the region.