Schröcken

Schröcken is an municipality in the district of Bregenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.

Geography

Schröcken is located in the western province of Austria, Vorarlberg, Bregenz in the district south-south-east of the Bodensee. It is in the Austrian Alps and is at an altitude of 1,269 meters. 12.4% of the area are forested, 39.4% of the Alpine area.

History

The area around Schröcken was first populated around 1300 by German-speaking people known as the Walser, who came to Austria in from the Bernese Oberland highlands located in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The town was made part of a regional administrative area called Tannberg in 1806.

The town is located near the border between Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. From 1805 to 1814, the town was under the jurisdiction of the Free State of Bavaria. The town was also part of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire, and later to the administrative zone of Vorarlberg, Austria. From 1945 to 1955, Schröcken was part of the French occupation zone in Austria.