Editing Vorarlberg (section)

==History==
[[File:ProVorarlberg.jpg|thumb|upright|"Confederates, help your brothers in peril!" Swiss poster of the ''Pro Vorarlberg ([[:de:Volksabstimmung 1919 in Vorarlberg|de]])'' movement advocating for an accession of Vorarlberg, 1919]]

Before the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] conquered Vorarlberg, there were two [[Celts|Celtic]] tribes settled in this area: the [[Raeti]] in the highlands, and the [[Vindelici]] in the lowlands, i.e. the Lake Constance region and the Rhine Valley. One of the important settlements of the Vindelici was Brigantion (modern Bregenz), founded around 500&nbsp;BC. The first settlements in and around Bregenz date from 1500 BC. A Celtic tribe named "Brigantii" is mentioned by Strabo as a sub-tribe in these region of the Alps.<ref>Strabo, ''Geographia'' Book IV Chap. 6</ref> The area of Vorarlberg was conquered by the Romans in 15&nbsp;BC and it became part of the [[Roman province]] of [[Raetia]]. It was later conquered by Allemanic tribes in c. 450 AD.

It then fell under the rule of the [[Bavarians]] and was subsequently settled by the Bavarians and the [[Lombards]]. It later fell under the rule of the [[Counts of Bregenz]] until 1160 and then to the [[Counts of Montfort (Swabia)|Counts of Montfort]] until 1525, when the [[Habsburgs]] took control.<ref name="farlex">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/|title=Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary|website=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref>

The historically-Germanic province, which was a gathering-together of former [[bishopric]]s, was still ruled in part by a few semi-autonomous [[count]]s and surviving [[prince-bishop]]s until the start of [[World War I]]. Vorarlberg was a part of [[Further Austria]], and parts of the area were ruled by the Counts [[Montfort of Vorarlberg]].

{{anchor|Referendum1919}}<!-- [[1919 Vorarlberg referendum]] redirects here--> Following World War I there was a desire by many in Vorarlberg to join Switzerland.<ref>1982 edition of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "History of Austria"</ref> In the [[1919 Vorarlberg annexation referendum|Vorarlberg annexation referendum]] held on 11 May 1919, 80.75% of those voting supported a proposal for the state to join the Swiss Confederation<!-- In favour: 47,727
Opposed: 11,378 -->. However, the proposed union never took place. Within Switzerland, the [[Romandy|Swiss French]] and [[Swiss Italians]] were reluctant to take in another German-speaking area, and {{Citation needed span|text=Swiss Protestants were somewhat accepting to incorporating such a heavily Catholic area.|date=November 2024}} Opposition came from outside Switzerland as well; for example, Italy wanted Switzerland to give up [[Ticino]] if there were any changes on Switzerland's eastern frontier. Vienna and the Allies also objected, out of concern for the balance of power in central Europe. The government of Vorarlberg opposed union with Switzerland, but began half-hearted negotiations with Bern after the overwhelming result of the referendum. When it became apparent that the Swiss were lukewarm at best to absorbing Vorarlberg as well, Vorarlberg remained with Austria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2019/05/leftover-canton-and-switzerland/|title=The 'Kanton Übrig' – Switzerland's 'leftover' Canton|author1=Andrej Abplanalp|newspaper=Swiss National Museum - Swiss History Blog |publisher=[[Swiss National Museum]]|date=May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://c2d.unige.ch/int/voteres.php?entit=10&vote=101&lang= |title=C2D – Centre d'études et de documentation sur la démocratie directe |access-date=27 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227221933/http://c2d.unige.ch/int/voteres.php?entit=10&vote=101&lang= |archive-date=27 February 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> If Vorarlberg had joined Switzerland, then [[Liechtenstein]] would have been enclaved by Switzerland, like the situation of [[Lesotho]], [[San Marino]] and [[Vatican City]].

Following the [[Second World War]] Vorarlberg found itself occupied by [[French army|French troops]] from 1945 to 1955, along with most of the state of [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]].