Regional profile: Land (State) Vorarlberg

Governor:

Dr. Herbert Sausgruber

Landhaus Bregenz

Telephone : 0043 (0) 5574 511 20000

FAX : 0043 (0) 5574 20090

E-Mail : herbert.sausgruber@vorarlberg.at

Internet-URL : www.vorarlberg.at

Business development office:

Mag. Karlheinz Rüdisser

Landhaus Bregenz

Telephone : 0043 (0) 5574 / 511 - 23 000

E-Mail : karlheinz@ruedisser@vorarlberg.at

Internet-URL : www.vorarlberg.at

Dipl.Bw.(FH) Harald Moosbrugger

Landhaus Bregenz

Telefon: 0043 (0) 5574 / 511 – 26110

harald.moosbrugger@vorarlberg.at

Wirtschafts-Standort Vorarlberg GmbH

Stadtstraße 33

6850 Dornbirn

Telefon: 0043 (0) 5572 55252-0

wisto@wisto.at

www.wisto.at

Inhabitants: 368 000 Personen

Area: 2 601 km²

With a total area of 2,601 square kilometres, Vorarlberg is the second smallest federal province in Austria. It is divided into the four administrative districts of Bregenz, Dornbirn, Feldkirch and Bludenz. Within these four districts are 96 municipalities, 5 of which are towns. The provincial capital is Bregenz.

As the farthest western province of Austria, Vorarlberg borders on Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. St. Gallen, Zurich, or Ulm are easier to reach from Vorarlberg than from Innsbruck (A). The industrial cities of Stuttgart, Basel and Karlsruhe are closer than from Salzburg (A).

It is due to the mountainous character of Vorarlberg (only 11% of the land allows for settlement) that the greatest population density is found in the Rhine Valley with 1500 residents per km². With 61 of 538.5 km², Vorarlberg also has a share of Lake Constance - next to Lake Geneva, the largest lake in western Europe.

Events, such as the Bregenz Festival Performance or "Schubertiade" concerts, set international, cultural accents. The "Kunsthaus" in Bregenz stands not only for modern art but also for modern architecture. There is an openness to new concepts and some of the finest architects, successfully uniting modern design with traditional style and conservation of the natural environment. The magazine "Wallpaper" has called Vorarlberg "the most progressive place of the planet when it comes to new architecture."

Highly respected for its quality vocational education is the Technical University of Vorarlberg. The university offers internationally recognised study and graduate programmes to students in Vorarlberg and the neighbouring regions. These include both full-time programmes and distance learning courses with subjects from the areas of technology, business, informatics, design and social studies. With the application-oriented nature of the research, this university makes a considerable contribution to the future positioning of the state of Vorarlberg and positively influences its competitiveness and attractiveness as a business location.