Hohenems facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hohenems Ems
Town centre
Coat of arms
Location within Dornbirn district
Hohenems Location in Austria
Country	Austria
State	Vorarlberg
District	Dornbirn
Area
• Total	29.17 km2 (11.26 sq mi)
Elevation	432 m (1,417 ft)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	6845
Area code	05576
Vehicle registration	DO
Website	www.hohenems.at

Hohenems is a town in Austria, located in the state of Vorarlberg. It sits in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With over 16,000 people, it's one of the biggest towns in Vorarlberg. It's also growing fast!

Hohenems has cool places to visit, like an old Renaissance palace from the 1500s. There's also a museum about Jewish history and a charming old town center.

Geography of Hohenems

The town is about 432 meters (1,417 feet) above sea level. It is also about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Lake Constance. Hohenems stretches about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) from north to south. It is also 8.2 kilometers (5.1 miles) from west to east.

The total area of Hohenems is about 29 square kilometers (11 square miles). About 42% of this area is covered with forests. The oxbow lake of the Rhine river is to the west. This river forms the border between Austria and Switzerland. The mountainside to the east is the narrowest part of the Austrian Rhine valley.

The Schlossberg (meaning "castle mountain") is 740 meters (2,428 feet) high. It creates a special background for the town center.

Hohenems Neighborhoods

Hohenems is split into several areas. These include Markt (the town center), Oberklien and Unterklien (to the north). There are also Hohenems-Reute (east), Schwefel (south), and Herrenried (west).

The town is surrounded by six other communities. These are Lustenau and Dornbirn to the north and east. Also, Fraxern, Götzis, and Altach are to the south. Finally, Diepoldsau in Switzerland is to the west.

History of Hohenems

Town hall, built in 1567 as a guesthouse for important visitors

On top of the Schlossberg rock, you can find the ruins of Alt-Ems castle. This castle dates back to the 800s AD. From the 1100s, it was one of the biggest forts in the south of the Kingdom of Germany. The castle was very large, stretching up to 800 meters (2,625 feet) long. It was also 85 meters (280 feet) wide.

The castle was most famous from the 1200s to the 1500s. Many lords and knights of Hohenems lived there. They were loyal to the House of Hohenstaufen family. The castle even held important prisoners. One was William III of Sicily, a Norman king, who likely died there in 1198.

Hohenems was given the right to be a town in 1333. However, it didn't fully use these rights for 650 years. In 1983, the government of Vorarlberg finally gave Hohenems full status as a "municipality" or town.

Castles and Palaces

The Burg Neu-Ems (also called "Schloss Glopper") was built in 1343. It is on a mountain close to Alt-Ems. In 1407, both castles were destroyed during the Appenzell Wars. But they were rebuilt soon after. Burg Neu-Ems is still standing today. It is owned by the Waldburg-Zeil family.

The Renaissance palace in the center of Hohenems

The Renaissance palace is at the foot of the Schlossberg. It stands out in the main town square, the Schlossplatz. It was built between 1562 and 1567. The architect was Martino Longhi the Elder. Cardinal Marcus Sittich Hohenems (Altemps) started the project. He also designed a palace in Rome.

Religious wars and a plague caused many deaths in the area. This happened over the next century. This was also when the Protestant Counts of Hohenems were most powerful. They even bought Vaduz Castle, which is now in Liechtenstein. Two old copies of the Nibelungenlied (a famous German epic poem) were found in the palace library in 1755 and 1779.

The first coffee shop in Vorarlberg opened in Hohenems in 1797. The first bank and printing office in Vorarlberg also opened here in 1841 and 1920.

Jewish Heritage in Hohenems

The Jewish community in Hohenems started in 1617. Soon after, they built a synagogue, a ritual bath (mikvah), a school, and a poorhouse. A cemetery was also made on the edge of town. Jewish businesses brought new things to Hohenems. These included the first coffee house in 1797 and the first bank and insurance company in Vorarlberg in 1841.

The Jewish community in Hohenems was at its peak around 1862. Nearly 600 Jewish citizens lived there. This was 12% of the town's population. Sadly, the Jewish presence in town ended in 1942. The last remaining Jewish person, Frieda Nagelberg, was sent away to Vienna.

A part of the Jewish quarter with the former synagogue

The synagogue survived the Kristallnacht (a violent attack against Jews in 1938) without damage. After the war, the town bought it and turned it into a fire station. All items from its time as a synagogue were removed or destroyed. In 2001, the synagogue was fixed up. Now, it is used as a cultural center.

The Jewish quarter has been a protected historical area since 1996. It has many old houses and mansions around the synagogue. This area, along with the former Christengasse (now Market Street), forms the heart of Hohenems.

In 1991, the Jewish Museum of Hohenems opened in a mansion in the Jewish quarter. The museum tells the story of the Jewish community in Hohenems. Many items on display show how active the Jewish community once was. A part of the museum also remembers the dark time of the Nazi period. This was when attempts were made to erase all traces of Jewish culture. The Jewish cemetery, south of town, dates back to 1617. It is still used today. It has over 500 graves, with 370 gravestones still standing.

Mayors of Hohenems

• 2004–2015: Richard Amann
• Since December 2015: Dieter Egger (born 1969)

Population Growth

Things to Do and See

Exhibit in "Stoffel's sawmill"

Central Hohenems, east of the railway station.

The town center is growing with hotels, shops, and restaurants. On the edge of town, there are big stores and a movie theater with ten screens.

On the way to the mountain village Reute, high above Hohenems, there is a special museum. It's called Stoffels Säge-Mühle ("Stoffel's Sawmill"). This museum shows the history of sawmills and grinding technologies.

Hohenems has many fun things to do. In the mountains, there's a small ski resort called Schuttannen. There's also a rock-climbing area called Löwenzähne ("Lion's Teeth"). Its walls are up to 150 meters (500 feet) high. You can also find many hiking trails and mountain biking routes nearby. The town also has the largest recreation center in Vorarlberg. It covers 13 hectares and is located by the Rhine river's oxbow lake.

Altes Krankenhaus (old hospital)

One part of the hospital in Hohenems was built in 1908. It has been fully renovated. It's called the Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Krankenhaus ("Empress Elisabeth hospital"). It's a beautiful example of Art Nouveau style. This part of the hospital now has a special unit for palliative care. The main modern hospital was built in 1972.

Getting Around Hohenems

Hohenems railway station.

Two main roads, the L190 and L203, go through Hohenems from north to south. The L46 road leads from the town center to the border with Switzerland. Hohenems also has access to the A14 motorway, which is part of European route E60.

The Hohenems railway station is on the main train line. This line connects to Bregenz and Innsbruck. The trains are run by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB).

Vorarlberg's only airfield is located within Hohenems. It has a runway that is 630 meters (2,066 feet) long.

Hohenems in Pop Culture

• Hohenems was one of the places shown in the Swiss-Austrian film Akte Grüninger.
• The town is where the story ends in Dennis Wheatley's novel The Second Seal (1950). This book is about the start of World War I.
• Bernard Levin mentions Hohenems in his book Conducted Tour (1982). He talks about a music festival there where all the works of Franz Schubert were played in order.

Twin Towns

Hohenems is twinned with:

• Bystré and Polička in the Czech Republic (since 1997)

Famous People from Hohenems

• Rudolf von Ems (1200–1254), a medieval German poet and singer.
• Markus Sittich von Hohenems (1574–1619), who became the Archbishop of Salzburg.
• Salomon Sulzer (1804–1890), a famous Jewish cantor and composer.
• August Brentano (1829–1886), a newspaper dealer in New York City. He moved there in 1851.
• Eugen Steinach (1861–1944), an Austrian scientist who studied hormones.
• Michael Köhlmeier (born 1949), an Austrian writer and musician who lives in Hohenems.
• Hans Jörg Schelling (born 1953), a businessman and former Austrian Minister of Finance.
• Adi Hütter (born 1970), a football player and coach. He played many games and also for the Austrian national team.
• Wolfram Waibel Jr. (born 1970), a sports shooter who won medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
• Christian Klien (born 1983), a former Formula One racing driver.
• Ramazan Özcan (born 1984), a football goalkeeper who played for the Austrian national team.
• Matthias Brändle (born 1989), a professional cyclist.
• David Reinbacher, a professional ice hockey player.

See also

In Spanish: Hohenems para niños