Media Information Summer 2019 Information & Service The contents of this compilation were collected in December 2018 and any changes made known to us have been integrated since then. The contents are based on our own research and information provided by the partners. Press text online You can download the entire text online at www.bregenzerwald.at/en/media . Photos online You can find a selection of matching photos – to be used in a touristic context and only in conjunction with a report about the Bregenzerwald – at www.bregenzerwald.at/en/media . If you require more extensive photo material, we will gladly send you the photos you request. Bregenzerwald Tourismus - Social Media www.instagram.com/visitbregenzerwald | #visitbregenzerwald | @visitbregenzerwald www.facebook.com/visitbregenzerwald www.youtube.com/bregenzerwaldtourism Available brochures . The Bregenzerwald Travel Magazine appears twice a year – once in the summer and once in the winter – with around 60 pages of edited stories and reports. Regional and international authors report on people in and from the Bregenzerwald and about those things which give them pleasure and joy. Only printed in German, also in English on-line. The ‘Reisemagazin Bregenzerwald’ is available online at www.bregenzerwald.at . The website is also home to some of the magazine stories in English. The Bregenzerwald Travel Guide is published at the same time as the Travel Magazine every six months (winter and summer). The summer edition contains useful information about hiking and other leisure activities, from cultural institutions and events through to architecture and craftsmanship, right through to wellness offers. Research trips Would you like to see the Bregenzerwald for yourself? Please feel free to contact Mag. Cornelia Kriegner. Contact for media enquiries Bregenzerwald Tourismus Mag. Cornelia Kriegner T +43 (0)5512 2365-12 [email protected] Seite 2 Contents Page Bregenzerwald, Vorarlberg 4 Building, shaping and designing 6 Protecting the environment 9 Listening, looking and being amazed 10 Trying and tasting 14 Hiking works wonders 18 Exploring by bike 21 Exercising in nature 23 Family activities 26 The enjoyment of relaxation 29 Space for everyone 31 Overview of Bregenzerwald 32 Seite 3 Bregenzerwald, Vorarlberg The Bregenzerwald is located in the most westerly part of Austria, in the state of Vorarlberg. Close to Lake Constance, a neighbour of Germany, Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Creative enthusiasm Mountains, pastures, forests, 23 picturesque villages, 32,000 inhabitants and almost that many cows: that is Bregenzerwald at a cursory glance. The region holds a wealth of surprises for those who trouble to take a closer look at it and its inhabitants, however. Where one might expect to find a typical alpine down-to-earth mentality, new ideas are cheerfully springing up. Age-old knowledge and skills are proving to offer a solid foundation for innovation. It is not a desire for novelty that is inspiring new developments: new objects and approaches created in Bregenzerwald very often meet both high aesthetic and functional standards. TIP: Twelve ‘Design Trails’ – village walks – give walkers insights into creative enthusiasm and competence in design (see page 7 for further details). The successful, courageous blend of tradition and modernity is clearly presented by the architecture and craftsmanship. Both disciplines are closely interwoven, and are a symbol of that which the locals of the Bregenzerwald are experts in: appreciation of art, of beauty, the creation of pleasure, both sophisticated and practical. This interplay is both visible and perceptible in many places: . In the accommodation: many of the hotels, guest houses, holiday apartments and farms combine the old with the new, or have been newly and very sensitively built in recent years. The new, light-flooded wellness refuges with a view of nature are particularly charming. The cooking in the multi-award winning restaurants and inns uses regional products which enjoy a creative interpretation. The Bregenzerwald locals are true masters in the art of cheese production, especially of ‘alpine- and mountain cheese’. The KäseStrasse Bregenzerwald, with its multitude of informative and pleasurable stations, is dedicated to cheese culture. The classical and the modern merge in the cultural programme, with the surrounding countryside playing its part. The highlight every year is the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in the Angelika Kauffmann Hall, which affords a view of the surrounding meadows and forests. The Werkraumhaus in Andelsbuch sees itself as a showcase for innovative craftsmanship and design in the Bregenzerwald. FAQ Bregenzerwald, the festival with a forum character, displays potentials for having a good time. Visitors can explore the cultural landscapes by way of the many hiking paths and theme paths that tell stories about the region. Signage has been put up for a good 450 km of mountain bike routes. 23 allow one to learn more about the area’s unusual natural features and about alpine cultivation. There are also several outdoor activity operators who can guide adventurers and nature-lovers along very special paths. Attractive programmes offer visitors a taste of Bregenzerwald life and culture, some of them are highly family-oriented; those continue throughout the entire summer in most municipalities. The Bregenzerwald Guest-Card is your ‘ticket’ to these mountain experiences. It is your unlimited ticket to take the cable car to the top as often as you like, is valid for environmentally- friendly rides on the public buses, and is your permit to refreshing, relaxing times in the outdoor swimming pools. The Bregenzerwald Guest Card is given to all visitors who spend three or more nights in one of the 24 partner villages from 1 May to 31 October 2019. Seite 4 Get in the mood and take a piece home with you: What’s it to be: culinary delights, skin care or a piece of craftsmanship? Presents to take back to your loved ones which are typical of the Bregenzerwald are: . The delicious alpine- and mountain cheese which is produced in small alpine dairies and on alps. The Käsehaus in Andelsbuch is open seven days a week. The cheese is also available in the alpine dairies, in farm shops and in the Käsekeller in Lingenau . Delicious treats and care products made from sheep’s milk – from yoghurt to cheese, through to hand cream – from the Gmeiner family sheep’s milk farm in Bizau . Mixed spices, home-made produce, beautiful and practical things for your kitchen and table from Frau Kaufmann in Egg . A wide selection of honey specialities, fine spirits, chocolates and skin care products from Bentele Genuss in Alberschwende . Spirits produced from mountain herbs, made by Löwen Bergbrennerei in Au-Rehmen. The shop and the café in the Gasthof zum Löwen in Au-Rehmen, a listed building. Guided tours of the building and the distillery take place on Thursdays and Fridays at 4.00 p.m. Fine-quality brandies, spirits and liqueurs from the Maan fine brandy producers in Alberschwende . The extravagantly produced herb salt made by well-informed women out of 14 hand-picked herbs and medicinal plants from the nature experience in Holdamoos (available from the Sennhaus Au-Rehmen) . Spices with herbs, herb vinegars and herbal teas, made with herbs from Soni Kräuter’s own garden in Hittisau . High-quality vegetable oils including linseed oil and sesame oil as well as rarities such as tomato seed oil and chilli seed oil from the Ölmanufaktur Krumbach . Pieces of furniture and textiles from the Werkraum craftspeople from the Bregenzerwald Practical and decorative objects are available in the Werkraumhaus in Andelsbuch, such as felt swings for toddlers, wooden chopping boards, coasters made from felt, etc. Pepper mills made of local wood, designed and produced by carpenter Bernhard Domig from Langenegg, available from the Werkraumhaus in Andelsbuch . Such handmade products from the Bregenzerwald as cheese, schnapps, practical and decorative wooden items as well as toys by Roland Bär from Andelsbuch . Handbags, wallets and accessories made with colourful felt by Nina Dobnik and her Filzkiste (‘Felt Box’) from Hittisau . Mattresses, slatted frames and bed linen made of natural materials, made by Andrea Hager/WOLENA from Schoppernau . Wooden clogs and cowskin boots by shoemaker Devich from Hittisau . Classic wooden sledge named ‘Ländle-Rodel’ by the Bereuter family from Alberschwende . Whey cosmetics by Family Metzler from Egg in the Bregenzerwald (see page 29 for further details) . Pampering treatment from the range of cosmetics and skin care products by Susanne Kaufmann (Hotel Post Bezau) – the ingredients are organically farmed or come from wild harvesting (see page 29 for further details) Seite 5 Building, shaping and designing. Those in the know acknowledge the Bregenzerwald’s position as a prime region for modern architecture and innovative craftsmanship. Exhibitions and 12 ‘Design Trails’ make the dialogue with one’s living environment both visible and perceptible. The Werkraumhaus: a house dedicated to craftsmanship In July 2013, the Werkraumhaus opened in Andelsbuch, a town known for its traditional craftsmanship. Its architect is Peter Zumthor, from Switzerland – an internationally renowned architect with close ties to craftsmanship. He met and came to appreciate the Bregenzerwald craftsmen in the Werkraum during the construction of the Kunsthaus Bregenz. Since then, many craftsmen from the Bregenzerwald have been working for the maestro from Switzerland. Peter Zumthor’s design for the Werkraumhaus is founded on two basic ideas: on the one hand, the building serves as a meeting place. On the other hand, it is a major showcase for the culture of craftsmanship and design in the Bregenzerwald. This idea finds expression in a protruding roof made from wood and a façade made from glass. There is no distinction between inside and outside – the landscape flows through the building. The Werkraumhaus displays pieces by craftspeople who are members of the Werkraum, and holds changing special exhibitions. The Werkraumhaus also accommodates a restaurant and a shop.