Bregenzerwald

Bregenzerwald, Mountain Region, Vorarlberg, forested mountain range between Lake Constance and Hochtannberg mountain, drained by the Bregenzerach river. The Bregenzerwald forms the westernmost part of the Austrian northern Alps and has the same geological structure as the eastern ranges of the Swiss Alps, which are characterised by the broad molasse zone with conglomeratic stone reaching up to 1,000 m above sea level (Nagelfluh) in the north, the Helvetian zone with folded limestone and marl in the middle (Hoher Freschen mountain, Hoher Ifen mountain, Winterstaude mountain, Kanisfluh mountain) and the Flysch Zone with sandstone which is bounded by the high alpine limestone massifs of the northern limestone massifs in the south east (Zitterklapfen mountain, Widderstein mountain). The Subersach Stream, an eastern tributary of the Bregenzerach River, subdivides the Bregenzerwald into Vorderwald and Hinterwald. The Vorderwald in the northwest is a low mountain range, almost completely covered by grassland, with scattered settlements and cattle raising. The narrow-gauge railway "Wälderbahn" from Bregenz to Bezau (36 km long), built in 1902, is nowadays used as a museum railway line between Schwarzenberg and Bezau. The Hinterwald in the southeast has high alpine character (Braunarlspitze mountain 2,649 m, Hoher Ifen mountain 2,230 m, Kanisfluh mountain 2,044 m) and is partly covered with woods; mainly linear settlements. In the 14^th century the Bregenzerwald and the county of Feldkirch became part of the Habsburg Empire; the farmers enjoyed considerable freedom ("Wälderparlament" in Bezegg Pass) until the area fell under Bavarian rule. Economy: textile industry, power industry, tourism, agriculture (cattle raising, dairy farming, fruit-growing and viticulture). Culture: The Bregenzerwald is the home of the Vorarlberg School of Baroque architects and the painter A. Kauffmann. Regional costumes and customs and traditions still play a major role in everyday life. The Bregenzerwälderhaus farmhouse type(usually a two-storey building) is still common in the B. Important towns and villages: Hittisau, Alberschwende, Egg, Andelsbuch, Bezau, Mellau, Au, Damüls, Reuthe.