Vienna Symphony Orchestra

The Bregenz Festival is a cultural festival that takes place annually in July and August in the Vorarlberg provincial capital of Bregenz in Austria.

The main attraction for a large number of visitors on the world's largest lake stage is the play on the lake.  The festival is known for the beauty of the natural scenery of Lake Constance, oversized stage sets, technical cabinet pieces and a unique acoustics, which is achieved by the technique of Bregenz directional hearing. Elisabeth Sobotka has been artistic director of the Bregenz Festival since January 2015.

The programme of the Bregenz Festival in 2004, for example, included around 80 events attended by over 215,000 spectators. The orchestra of the festival is the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

The Festspielhaus Bregenz is an event centre in Bregenz and was opened in July 1980. It is the venue of the Bregenz Festival and the venue for conferences, congresses and events. It is operated by Kongresskultur Bregenz GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the state capital Bregenz. At the first festival in 1946, Mazarts "Basien und Bastienne" and his "Kleine Nachtsmusik" choreographed as a ballet were performed as "Spiel auf dem See" in the gondola port of Mazarts. After a donation by Karl Deuring, the largest lake stage in the world, a grandstand with a capacity of 6400 people, was made available to the Festspiele in 1950. In 1979, it was initially reduced to 4400 seats by conversions, but after further expansion it now holds almost 7000 spectators. As a play on the lake, a large production of the music theatre was staged every year, initially mostly operettas, singing plays or play operas, since the 1970s more and more operas of the international repertoire and musicals. Between 1960 and 1977 the Seebühne was also used again and again for ballet performances. Since 1985, the productions have been performed on the Seebühne for two years at a time.

Arrival

Five minutes walk from the main station, with very good train and bus connections. A motorway entrance and exit can be reached within three minutes by car. There are four airports (Friedrichshafen, Memmingen, Altenrhein, Zurich) within an hour's drive.

You have never been so close to your event location.

Arriving by bus

The festival district borders directly on the main railway station of the state capital Bregenz, where the bus station is located.

Arrival by car

Several large parking spaces are available in the immediate vicinity of the Festspielhaus. From the Bregenz city entrances, a parking guidance system leads you to free parking spaces.

Directions by car from the direction of Innsbruck

Motorway A14 (toll sticker required)
Departure Bregenz
city tunnel
after the tunnel keep right (Rheinstraße)
after approx. 400 m turn right onto the bridge (sign "Festspielhaus")

by car from Switzerland

Customs office Höchst (A)
then turn right at the first junction
on the B202 via Fußach and Hard direction Bregenz Zentrum (Rheinstraße)
straight ahead to the sign "Festspielhaus" turn right onto the bridge

by car from Germany

Motorway A14 (toll sticker required)
Pfänder Tunnel
after the tunnel first exit right to Bregenz
city tunnel
after the tunnel keep right (Rheinstraße)
after approx. 400 m turn right onto the bridge (sign "Festspielhaus")

 
Federal road (coming from Lindau)

B190 direction Bregenz (along Lake Constance)
always follow the arrows in the direction of Switzerland
approx. 600 m after the station turn left onto the bridge (sign "Festspielhaus")
 ... after the bridge turn right and you are on the parking lot east (P7) in front of the Festspielhaus!

Day parking ticket

Your guests don't have to worry if they have enough coins for the parking meter! We are happy to organise daily parking tickets for your congress participants. Your project manager will be happy to inform you!

Arrival by plane

Four airports can be reached from Bregenz within an hour's drive. Shuttle services to and from Bregenz increase travel comfort. The stops are located directly at Bregenz main station.

Business Airport St. Gallen - Altenrhein

Distance 23 km, reachable in 30 minutes by car

Lake Constance Airport Friedrichshafen

Distance 38 km, reachable in 40 minutes by car

Zurich Airport

distance 120 km, reachable in one hour and 20 minutes by car

Allgäu Airport

Distance 79 km, reachable in less than an hour by car

Arrival by train

The festival district borders directly on the main railway station of the state capital Bregenz. The train station is only a five-minute walk away.