This medieval town, which remains well preserved to this day, was mentioned as a city for the first time in 1218, after CountHugo von Montfort built the "Schattenburg", a castle which still is the majorlandmark of Feldkirch. Other sights in the town include the Gothic-stylecathedral of St. Nikolaus. Feldkirch was the birthplace ofRheticus, and is currently the seat of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Feldkirch. From 1651 to 1773 and from 1856 to 1979, Feldkirch was the home of theJesuit schoolStella Matutina.
Feldkirch has had its own local bus network since 1993. It currently consists of eight lines, including buses which run to the north of neighbouring Liechtenstein. The bus system cooperates with Vorarlberg's regional bus system.
Feldkirch has one of the best preserved medieval townscapes of Vorarlberg. The town was built around 1200 and has a geometric grid system. Since around 1500, when the city wall was rebuilt, the city has remained unchanged over the centuries.
Since 2015, the Feldkirch Municipal Ensemble has been listed in the Austrian List of Cultural Heritage (cultural property protected by theHague Convention). The city is also a member of the Association of Small Historic Towns, atourism marketing association.[4]
The renovatedMontforthaus in the historic city centre of Feldkirch
In 2015, theMontforthaus Feldkirch was newly renovated. It is a public venue for cultural activities like balls, trade fairs, concerts and theatre performances.[5]
The streets of the Schlossgraben, Hirschgraben and St. Leonhardsplatz marked the former course of thecity wall surrounding the Neustadt area in the 13th century. The wall was largely rebuilt around 1500, and torn down in many places beginning in 1826.[6]
When Feldkirch was surrounded by a city wall and acity moat, one could enter the city only through one of its four gates. These city gates were called Bregenzertor or Nikolaustor, Bludenzertor or Schultor, Milltor or Sautor, and Churertor or Salztor. The last two gates are still standing, the other two were removed together with the city wall at the beginning of the 19th century.[7]
The Katzenturm (cat tower) or colloquially Dicker Turm (fat tower) is a defense tower built in 1507 as part of the city wall's Hirschgraben. The 8-storey round and 40 m high tower was built as part of the city fortifications under the reign ofEmperor Maximilian I from 1491-1507. In the 17th century, the bell room for the Katzenturmglocke (cat tower bell) named "Maria Rochus" was built. The bell is the biggest in Vorarlberg(as of 2022) and weighs 8,5 t. The tower has an image of theVirgin Mary restored by Florus Scheel in the 19th century. The origin of the name Katzenturm has not been fully clarified to this day. One theory is that it got its name from the heavy artillery that the fortified tower was equipped with at the time. These were decorated with a lion's head, popularly referred to as a "cat".[8][9]
The Schattenburg in FeldkirchSchattenburg: The Schattenburg castle was the seat of thecounts of Montfort until 1390. The first construction phase began around 1230 under Hugo I of Montfort, the founder of the city. Under Count Friedrich von Toggenburg (1416–1436) and under the Vogt Hans of Königsegg extensions and transformations of the Schattenburg castle were built in the 15th century. After the counts lost their power, the castle was repeatedly put up for auction, and was even to be demolished in 1813. Since 1825 the castle has been owned by the town of Feldkirch, which at that time acquired it for 833florins. The castle then served asbarracks, and later as accommodation for the poor. The castle owes its rescue and revitalization to theMuseum and Homeland Security Associationfor Feldkirch and the Surrounding Area which was founded in 1912. The upper floors are home to a museum of local history that attracts about 25,000 visitors annually.[10]
Ruins of Tosters: The ruins of ahill castle on a hillside part of theSchellenberg, in the Feldkirch district of Tosters.
Palais Liechtenstein: In today's form, the house was built in the Schlossergasse No. 8 after the town fire of 1697, as an office building for the princeJohann Adam Andreas of Liechtenstein inBaroque style. In 1848 it became the property of Andreas Ritter of Tschavoll, at that time Feldkirch mayor and manufacturer. The town acquired the palais in 1967 and today the building is used as an exhibition centre. It is home of the cultural council, and also the seat of the city library and the city archives.[11]
In the 19th century the Feldkirchbourgeoisie built a number of prestigious residential buildings, most of which are still privately owned. The villas were built mostly on the Reichsstraße, mainly in the area between the Bärenkreuzung and the train station.
TheMontforter Zwischentöne is an interdisciplinary festival that takes place three times a year. Each series is based on a specific topic which is artistically and dramaturgically interpreted without genre-orientated boundaries. There are contributions from the fields of music, poetry, architecture, science, dance etc. The festival addresses issues of social and personal development on site and provides impetus for urban and regional development.[12][13]
ThePoolbar Festival is a modern music and cultural festival in Feldkirch. Held annually in July and August, it attracts around 20,000 visitors; it features music, exhibitions,poetry slams, fashion and an architectural prize. It was first held in 1994 as a cultural summer-academy and is, in its organization and implementation of landscape and architecture, very different from other open-air events.[14]
The bi-annuallight art festivalLichtstadt Feldkirch lets international artists fill the city of Feldkirch with light objects, projections and sculptures. Its first edition was held in 2018 and attracted 30.000 visitors.[15][16]
ThePOTENTIALe (formerly 'ArtDesign Feldkirch') is an art fair andfestival at which about 110 exhibitors present their products and ideas. In addition to a vintage market, there are workshops and discussion groups, a design laboratory, photography exhibitions, and music and films are presented. The aim of the festival is to establish a network of artists, craftsmen and customers that share the common vision ofsustainable design.[17]
TheFeldkirch Festival (2001-2012) was an annual summer festival that offered theater performances, concerts and other cultural events.[18]
TheWochenmarkt Feldkirch is a market in the Marktgasse in the city centre. At the market, fresh local produce and specialities likeBregenz Forest cheese are offered. It is open two days a week.[19]
The Irish writerJames Joyce is inextricably linked to Feldkirch. InWorld War I, Joyce was mistaken for a spy at the border check in Feldkirch in 1915 and almost arrested. Thanks to influential friends, he was regarded as a "friendly foreigner". The Irishman saw this event at the Feldkirch train station as fateful. Subsequently, it influenced his most important work. In the summer of 1932, the friendship with the publisher coupleMaria andEugene Jolas brought the writer back to Feldkirch, where he stayed for several weeks at the Hotel Löwen and worked onFinnegans Wake (published 1939). During this stay, Joyce himself said thatUlysses (1922) was inextricably linked to Feldkirch: "Over there, on those tracks, the fate of 'Ulysses' was decided in 1915."[20]
Official street sign: "James Joyce Passage"
James Joyce quotation bar in the Feldkirch train station hall
Georg Sporschill [de] (born 1946), pastor known for his social engagement for orphans and street children in Romania and Moldova and work with the homeless in Vienna.
^Tourismus, Bodensee Vorarlberg."Feldkircher Wochenmarkt".Bodensee Vorarlberg Tourismus (in German). Archived fromthe original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved21 August 2022.
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