Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
| Feldkirch | |
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 Feldkirch
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| Country |  Austria |
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| State | Vorarlberg |
| District | Feldkirch |
| Mayor | Wilfried Berchtold (ÖVP) |
| Area | 34.35 km2 (13 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 458 m (1503 ft) |
| Population | 33,052 (31 December 2010) |
| - Density | 962 /km² (2,492 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | FK |
| Postal code | 6800 |
| Area code | 05522 |
| Website | www.feldkirch.at |
Feldkirch is a medieval city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, at 47°15′N 9°35′E / 47.25°N 9.583°E, on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has a population of 32,193 (2007), 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 sights in the town include the cathedral of St. Nikolaus from the late Gothic period. Feldkirch was the birthplace of Rheticus, and is currently the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Feldkirch.
The writer James Joyce paid a visit to Feldkirch in 1932 to see his friend Eugene Jolas. He famously 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 World War I. 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 Feldkirch railway 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.
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Town districts
- Feldkirch (3184 inhabitants)
- Levis (2374 inhabitants)
- Altenstadt (4836 inhabitants)
- Gisingen (8539 inhabitants)
- Nofels (3760 inhabitants)
- Tosters (5379 inhabitants)
- Tisis (4982 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. The bus system works together with Vorarlberg's bus system which provides several supra-regional lines starting and ending in Feldkirch. There's an additional line called "nightline" which connects different bars and discos all around Feldkirch. The nightline plies till about 4 o'clock am on weekends.
Feldkirch railway station lies on the main railway line through the Vorarlberg.
Companies
As of 15 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
- Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch
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Schools
- Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch (founded in 1649)
- Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch
- Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse (GYS)
- Bundeshandelsakademie und Handelsschule Feldkirch
- Institut St. Josef
- Musikschule der Stadt Feldkirch
- Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium
- Pädagogische Hochschule des Bundes in Vorarlberg
Notable people
- Bartholomäus Bernhardi (1487–1551), Lutheran theologian
- Wolf Huber (c. 1485-1553), painter (Danube school) and architect
- Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–1574), mathematician and astronomer
- Karl Bleyle (1880–1969), musician and composer
- Elmar Fischer (* 1936), 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
- Natalie Uher (* 1968), Playmate (Playboy September 1984) and actress (Emmanuelle 6 (1988))
- Hans Weingartner (* 1970), author, director and film producer (famous for the international hit The Edukators starring Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch).
Feldkirch Festival
Feldkirch is the home of an annual Summer Festival, founded in 2002 by Thomas Hengelbrock and directed since 2007 by Philippe Arlaud.
Sport clubs
- VEU Feldkirch
- TC-ESV Feldkirch
- Tennisclub Swietelsky Blau-Weiss Feldkirch
- TSV Altenstadt
- SC Tisis
- FC Blau-Weiß Feldkirch
- Baseball- and Softballclub Feldkirch Cardinals
- Metafund Baskets Feldkirch (Basketball)
- HC Blau-Weiß Feldkirch
- Sportbillardclub Feldkirch
- Schiverein Tisis
- Volleyballclub SSK Feldkirch
Twin towns
Whitby, Canada
- ^ Geschichte Feldkirch Festival History of the Felkirch Festival (in German)
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Municipalities in the State of