Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
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Feldkirch is a medieval city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, at , on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has a population of 28,604 (2001), and is the administrative center of the district Feldkirch. After Dornbirn, it is the second largest town in Vorarlberg in terms of population, with slightly more inhabitants than the state capital Bregenz.
The beautiful medieval town, which remains well preserved to this day, was mentioned as a city for the first time in 1218, after Count Hugo von Montfort built the "Schattenburg", a castle which still is the major landmark of Feldkirch. Other landmarks of the town include the cathedral of St. Nikolaus from the late Gothic period. It was the birthplace of Rheticus.
The writer James Joyce paid a visit to Feldkirch in 1932 to see his friend Eugene Jolas. He famously remarked to Jolas "Over there, on those tracks, the fate of Ulysses was decided in 1915". Joyce had travelled through Feldkirch by train in 1915, when he moved from Trieste to Zürich to avoid the complexities of living in Austria-Hungary during the first world war. The train was boarded and passengers inspected by officials; if Joyce had been arrested then, he would have been unable to write Ulysses in its present form. There is a passage in the town named after him, and a dedication to him at the train station.
In recent years Feldkirch has built a reputation of having a top ice hockey team. They won the European Cup in 1997/1998 with stars such as Gustafsson and Rundqvist.
Feldkirch is officially twinned with the [Town of Whitby], Ontario, Canada.
Town districts
- Feldkirch (2964 inhabitants)
- Levis (2308 inhabitants)
- Altenstadt (4213 inhabitants)
- Gisingen (7956 inhabitants)
- Nofels (3538 inhabitants)
- Tosters (4944 inhabitants)
- Tisis (4808 inhabitants)
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Feldkirch has had its own local bus network since 1993, which currently consists of 8 lines including buses to the north of neighbouring Liechtenstein.Feldkirch lies on the main railway line through the Vorarlberg.
Companies
As of the 15h May 2001, 13,146 employees were employed by 1,464 companies in Feldkirch, including 5 large companies each employing more than 200 people.The following companies are based in Feldkirch:
- Bachmann Electronic
- Vorarlberg Milch
- Lingenhöle Technologie
- Stadtwerke Feldkirch
- KSW Tankstellen- und Industrieanlagenbau
- Gebäudereinigung Bauer
- xactdata software gmbh
- Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch
Schools
- Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch (founded in 1649)
- Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch
- Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse (GYS)
- Bundeshandelsakademie ud Handelsschule Feldkirch
- Institut St. Josef
- Musikschule der Stadt Feldkirch
- Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium
- Pädagogische Hochschule des Bundes in Vorarlberg
Famous sons and daughters of the town
- Bartholomäus Bernhardi (1487-1551), Lutheran theologian
- Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514-1574), mathematician and astronomer
- Karl Bleyle (1880-1969), musician and composer
- Elmar Fischer (* 1936), vicar general and bishop of the Feldkirch diocese
- Bernhard Leitner (* 1938), artist
- P. Georg Sporschill SJ (* 1946), pastor known for his social engagement for orphans and street children in Romania and Moldova and work with the homeless in Vienna.
- Wiltrud Drexel (* 1950), ski racer
- Günther Freitag (* 1952), novelist
- Herbert Bösch (* 1954), politician and MEP
- Hans Weingartner (* 1970), author, director and film producer (famous for the international hit The Edukators starring Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch).
Sport clubs
- Tennisclub Swietelsky Blau-Weiss Feldkirch
- TSV Altenstadt
- FC Blau-Weiß Feldkirch
- EHC Feldkirch 2000 (ice hockey)
- Baseball- und Softballverein Feldkirch Cardinals
- [Metafund Baskets Feldkirch] (Basketball)
- HC Blau-Weiß Feldkirch
- Sportbillardclub Feldkirch
- [Schiverein Tisis]
- Volleyballclub SSK Feldkirch
Trivia
- During the Austro-Hungarian empire, one of the titles held by the reigning emperor or "Kaiser" was "Duke of Feldkirch".
External links
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