Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest)
AustriaBundesdenkmalamt
Vorarlberg
Cultural landscapes
Word FileDisclaimer
The Secretariat of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Heritage Centre do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information or documentation provided by the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to the Secretariat of UNESCO or to the World Heritage Centre.
The publication of any such advice, opinion, statement or other information documentation on the World Heritage Centre’s website and/or on working documents also does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of UNESCO or of the World Heritage Centre concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its boundaries.
Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party
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.