Feldkirch, Austria

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

AustriaVorarlberg

Overview

Feldkirch is the second-largest city in Vorarlberg, set in the upper Rhine valley directly on the border with Liechtenstein and a few kilometres from Switzerland. The medieval old town is dominated by the 13th-century Schattenburg fortress on its rocky spur and built around an arcaded market street; the surrounding hills offer one of the few four-country panoramas in Europe — Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany visible at once.

Medieval Old Town

Arcaded Marktgasse, two preserved city gates, the late-Gothic cathedral and a walled core within a few hundred metres.

Schattenburg Castle

13th-century castle museum and panoramic restaurant directly above the city centre.

Four-Country Panorama Hiking

Walks on the Drei Schwestern ridge with views over Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany.

Liechtenstein Gateway

Twenty-minute post-bus connection to Vaduz and the wider Principality from the Feldkirch railway station.

Classical Music

Year-round chamber and orchestral programmes in the Johanniterkirche, Montforter Hof and Konservatorium.
Travel Overview

Feldkirch is the second-largest city in Vorarlberg and the best-preserved medieval town in the state — a walled core of arcaded merchant houses, the 13th-century Schattenburg fortress on its rocky spur and a tight network of cobbled lanes around the Marktgasse. The setting on the upper Rhine valley puts it directly on the border with Liechtenstein and a few kilometres from Switzerland, with one of the few four-country panoramas in Europe (Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Germany visible at once) reachable on foot from the centre. Feldkirch is also one of Austria's most musically distinctive small cities, with a steady chamber-music programme in the medieval Johanniterkirche, the Konservatorium and the Montforter Hof. The city is on the main Arlberg railway line between Innsbruck and Zurich, which makes it the practical entry point to Liechtenstein for travellers without a car.

Discover Feldkirch

The 13th-century Schattenburg sits on a rocky outcrop directly above the medieval old town. The castle museum spreads through restored noble apartments and an arms hall and gives a clear, compact view of the upper Rhine valley's medieval and early-modern history. The castle restaurant in the inner court is one of the city's best-known kitchens, and the climb up — fifteen minutes from the Marktplatz — opens out onto a wide rooftop panorama.

Diplomatic missions in Feldkirch

1 embassy based in this city, grouped by region.