Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal state (Bundesland) of Austria. It has the second-smallest area after Vienna, and although it has the second-smallest population, it also has the second-highest population density (also after Vienna). It borders three countries: Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg via Lake Constance), Switzerland (Graubünden and St. Gallen) and Liechtenstein. Vorarlberg is almost completely mountainous. It has a Germanic Alpine culture, quite different from the rest of Austria, and has been nicknamed the ‘Ländle’ meaning ‘small land’. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol to the east.The capital of Vorarlberg is Bregenz (29,500 inhabitants), although Dornbirn (48,700 inhabitants) and Feldkirch (33,000 inhabitants) have larger populations. Vorarlberg is also the only state in Austria where the local dialect is not Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore has much more in common culturally with its Alemannic-speaking neighbours Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Swabia than with Bavaria and the rest of Austria.