VORARLBERG, the most western division of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, is bounded on the N.
by Bavaria, on the W. by the Lake of Constance, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, on the S. by Switzerland, and on the E. by Tyrol. Though united for administrative purposes with Tyrol, it enjoys a constitution of its own, and ranks as a separate member of the empire. It is emphatically an Alpine region, being traversed by various spurs of the Rhaetian Alps (Arlberg, Bregenzer Wald, &c.), attaining a height of 6000 to 9000 feet, and even possessing a few small glaciers. The name is derived from the Arlberg Pass (i.e., Adlerberg, or Eagle’s Mountain, 5895 ft.), separating it from Tyrol and forming the means of communication between Innsbruck and the Lake of Constance. The pass is now traversed by a railway, the tunnel under the Arlberg itself (opened Oct. 1884), being 6½ miles in length. Vorarlberg is watered by numerous small streams, most of them flowing into the Rhine, which is in contact with the west side of the crownland for a distance of about 20 miles. About one-third of the surface (almost exactly 1000 square miles in extent) is occupied by pasture, upwards of one-sixth by forests, one-seventh by meadows, and only one-twentieth by arable land. In correspondence with these figures, we find that the chief employments of the inhabitants are cattle-rearing, dairy-farming, and forestry....
In 1881 the district contained 61,115 cattle, and cheese is produced in large quantities. Grain is cultivated in the valleybottoms, but not more than enough is raised to cover the home consumption; potatoes, fruit, and wine are also produced. The manufacturing industry is also by no means unimportant, occupying nearly 30 per cent. of the population. The chief branch is the spinning and weaving of cotton, which is carried on with special vigour in the neighbourhood of the towns and larger villages. A characteristic industry is the construction of wooden chalets, which are exported to Switzerland by water. Many of the men spend the summer in Switzerland as masons and labourers, returning to their homes in winter. In 1881 the population numbered 107,373, nearly all of Teutonic stock and the Roman Catholic faith. The chief towns, none of which are large, are Bregenz (4736 inhabitants), the capital, and the port of Austria on the Lake of Constance, Bludenz (3150 inhabitants), Feldkirch (3600), and Dornbirn. Vorarlberg belongs to the see of Brixen, the princebishop of which is represented by a vicar-general at Feldkirch. The provincial diet consists of twenty-one members, including the vicar-general. The crownland sends two representatives to the imperial parliament.
Vorarlberg is formed out of the old duchies and countships of Bregenz, Feldkirch, Bludenz, Sonnenberg, and Hohenems, all of which had come into the possession of the house of Austria by the 14th century, chiefly by purchase. Prior to 1782 it was counted part of Hither Austria, but since then it has been administratively united with Tyrol. The peace of Pressburg (1805) assigned it to Bavaria, along with northern Tyrol, but it was restored to its old allegiance in 1814.
[525 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]