Page 269 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Austria

T Y ROL AND VOR ARLBERG  267

x Lustenau
Road map A4. * 22,000. £ @
n Rathausstrasse 1, (05577) 81810.
∑ lustenau.at
A fairly large town, Lustenau
lies 5 km (3 miles) north of the
mouth of the Rhine as it joins
Bodensee, on the border with
Switzerland. It is famous for its
embroidery and lace-making.
It was at Lustenau that the
Romans under the leadership of
Emperor Constantine II defeated
the Alemanni tribes who had
risen up against the empire. The
earliest historic records date
from 887, when the settlement
belonged to the Carolingians.
Until 1806, it was a free territory
within the Habsbrug Empire. In
1814, after the Congress of
Vienna, Lustenau came under
Austrian rule.
Serene blue waters of Bodensee, also known as Lake Constance The Museum Rhein-Schauen
documents the history of the
z Bodensee Austria it is a highly con ve n ient local people and the Rhine. It is
transport route to western also the terminus of the
Road map A4. £ @ n Bodensee-
Alpenrhein Tourismus, Römerstrasse 2, Europe, while for the inhabi- Rheinbähnle, a narrow-gauge
Bregenz, (05574) 43 443-0. tants of the surrounding train line that takes passengers
∑ bodensee-vorarlberg.com towns and villages, as well along the shores of the Rhine to
as for the visitors that arrive the outmost point of the Rhine
Bodensee, or Lake Constance here from neigh bouring delta in Lake Constance, or to
in English, is one of the largest countries in great numbers an old depot and quarry where
and best-known European lakes. every summer, it provides materials for the Rhine dams
It divides its waters between excellent facilities for water were once taken. A little electric
the three countries surrounding sports and relaxation. Once one engine pulls the passenger cars
it: Austria, Germany and of Europe’s most polluted lakes, and, on occasion, a steam
Switzerland. Austria actually Bodensee is now one of its engine takes its place.
only claims a very small part cleanest, after extensive efforts
of it: the total area of the lake were made over several E Museum Rhein-Schauen
is 538.5 sq km (208 sq miles), decades to control pollution. Höchsterstrasse 4. Tel (05577) 20 539.
of which only 38 sq km The mountains around the Open 1–5:30pm Thu–Sun.
(14.7 sq miles) is Austrian. town of Bregenz extend right Rheinbähnle: 3pm Fri–Sun from the
Bodensee is 74 km (44 miles) up to the water, creating a museum. ∑ rheinschauen.at
long, the largest lake in the Alps. pic tur esque setting for the
Once the lake was much larger, count less artistic events that
but with time, deposits carried take place here, such as the
by the Rhine have reduced Bregenz Spring dance festival
its size. The Rhine flows into (Mar) and the internationally
the lake in a broad delta, acclaimed Bregenz Festival
wholly in Austrian territory. (see p334). Many perfor mances
Having passed through the take place on the famous
entire length of Bodensee, Seebühne, or floating stage.
it emerges in a water fall as a A number of interesting towns
turbulent mountain river near line the shores of Bodensee,
Schaffhausen, in Switzerland. including Lindau, Konstanz
The countryside around the with its island of Mainau
lake benefits from a pleasant, containing flower-filled gardens,
mode rate climate. an arboretum and butterfly
Today, Bodensee forms house, and Friedrichshafen on
not so much a border as a the German side, which can be
link between the countries reached by ferry or pleasure 17th-century lace in the Rhein-Schauen
that lie on its shores. For craft sailing from Bregenz. museum in Lustenau

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