Bregenz

The capital of Vorarlberg, on a plateau falling in terraces to Lake Constance at the foot of the Pfänder, where the roads from the Rhine valley meet those running into the German Alpine foothills. The first settlements here date from 1500 BC; Strabo names the Brigantii as a Celtic sub-tribe of the region, and in the fifth century BC the Celts held Brigantion as one of their most heavily fortified places. Rome took it after a series of battles in 15 BC. The summer Bregenzer Festspiele is what the town is known for now.