Editing Bregenz (section)

==History==
[[File:De_Merian_Sueviae_068.jpg|thumb|left|Bregenz, Chalcography by Caspar Merian, about 1650]]
The first settlements date from 1500 BC. The [[Brigantii]] are mentioned by Strabo as a Celtic sub-tribe in this region of the Alps.<ref>Strabo, ''Geographia'' Book IV Chap. 6</ref> In the 5th century BC, the [[Celts]] settled at '''Brigantion''', which became one of their most heavily fortified locations. After a series of battles in 15 BC, the Romans conquered Brigantion and the city became a Roman camp. It was conferred the status of a municipality ('''Brigantium''') around 50 AD. Brigantium was the seat of the Roman admiralty for [[Lake Constance]] and included a [[Roman Theatre (Bregenz)|theatre]]. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the [[Alemanni]], Germanic peoples who settled in the area in around 450.

From 610 to 612 [[Columbanus|Saint Columbanus]] and [[Saint Gall]] worked as missionaries in Bregenz. From 917 onwards the castle served as a residence of the Udalrichinger (ruling dynasty of Vorarlberg), who called themselves Counts of [[County of Bregenz|Bregenz]]. The house died out around 1150. The son of the first Ulrich was [[Gebhard of Constance|Saint Gebhard]], born in 947. He became the [[Bishopric of Constance|Bishop of Konstanz]]. In around 1170 Hugo of Tübingen (Montfort) founded a town settlement (first documented in 1249), enlarged it in the 13th and 14th centuries and from 1650 to 1652.<ref>B. Bilgeri, Bregenz, Geschichte der Stadt, Bd. 1, Wien-München, 1980</ref>

The city was sold in 1451, and again in 1523, to the [[Habsburg]]s and continued under Austrian rule, with a brief occupation by Swedish forces under [[Carl Gustaf Wrangel]] during the [[30 Years' War]], until the 19th century. Bregenz was under [[Bavaria]]n rule from 1805 to 1814. From 1842 to 1850, the harbour on [[Lake Constance]] was built, then enlarged in 1883 and from 1889 to 1891, and Austrian ship service was inaugurated in 1884. Railway services have existed since 1872, and since 1884 across the [[Arlberg]] massif.

Since 1726, Bregenz has been the main seat of Austrian administration in [[Vorarlberg]] (''Obervogtei'', in 1786 ''Kreisamt'', since 1861 seat of the Landtag, since 1918 seat of the [[Landeshauptmann]]). Rieden-Vorkloster and Fluh were incorporated into Bregenz in 1919 and 1946, respectively. The town was bombed by the Allies in 1945, and 72 houses were destroyed.

{| class="infobox" style="float:right;"
|colspan="2"|'''Largest groups of foreign residents'''<ref>{{cite web|title=Ergebnisse der Registerzählung 2011|url=http://www.vorarlberg.at/vorarlberg/geschichte_statistik/statistik/landesstatistik/weitereinformationen/bevoelkerung/registerzaehlungundvolksz/registerzaehlung.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140926190039/http://www.vorarlberg.at/vorarlberg/geschichte_statistik/statistik/landesstatistik/weitereinformationen/bevoelkerung/registerzaehlungundvolksz/registerzaehlung.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-09-26|publisher=Statistik - Landesstatistik Vorarlberg|access-date=2014-09-26}}</ref>
|-\
! Nationality || Population 
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}} || 1,329
|-
|{{flag|Germany}} || 1,035
|-
|{{flag|Russia}} || 422
|-
|{{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} || 396
|-
|{{flag|Croatia}} || 223
|-
|}