Hohenems, Stadt#

Hohenems, Vorarlberg, town in the district of Dornbirn, alt. 432 m, pop. 13,531, area 29.19 km2, industrial town with sulphur spas (since the 15th  century), on the eastern edge of the Rhine valley, south-west of Dornbirn. Hospital, customs office, local health and social insurance branch office, airfield, Herrenried stadium, "Stoffels Saegemuehle" saw mill, Islamic culture centre, youth centre, branch of the Vorarlberger Medienhaus media centre, Rheinauen recreation centre, skating rink, waterworks, concerts of the Bregenz festival (July- August) in the Renaissance palace; schools: landwirtschaftliche Fachschule (agricultural college), landwirtschaftliche Berufsschule (agricultural vocational school), hauswirtschaftliche Berufsschule (vocational school for home economics), flying school (private). 4,995 employees (1991), about 65 % working in the manufacturing sector: ski manufacture, textile industry (men´s wear, home textiles), anodic oxidation and electroplating company (cutlery), wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises (e.g. foods, textiles, knitwear, wood-working industry, marble works, etc.); commerce, tourism. - First documented mention 1180 as "Amides", was a directly subordinate imperial domain, came under Austrian administration in 1765, granted town status in 1983; parish church (1576-80, 1796/97 extended) with frescoes (1798) and Renaissance high altar (figures by H. Dieffolt, 1580), sepulchres by Mark Sittich I (1533) and Kaspar von Hohenems (1635). Jewish museum, synagogue, Judengasse and former Jewish cemetery are reminiscent of the Jewish quarter (from 1617); Alt-Ems fortress ruins (built in stages 12th - 17th  centuries, residence of the epic poet Rudolf von Ems); Neu-Ems Castle (also called Glopper Palace, founded 1343, today´s remains mostly date from the time when it was rebuilt around 1407); in the town, Renaissance palace (1562-67) of Cardinal Mark Sittich, 1603-10 extended; 1755 and 1779 two manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied were found in the library; Nibelungen fountain (1955) on the castle square; town hall (1567); largest siliceous limestone quarry in Vorarlberg. Open-air museum.

Literature#