City coat of arms

Loading map...

Hohenems is a town in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a population of 15,200 it is the fifth largest municipality in Vorarlberg. Hohenems' attractions include a Renaissance palace dating back to the 16th century and a Jewish museum.

The first time Hohenems received the rights and liberties of a city (German Stadtrecht) already was in 1333, but the town never made use of this municipal law. Only at the 650th anniversary of the Stadtrecht, in 1983, the government of Vorarlberg entitled Hohenems to all city rights.

On a crest near Alt-Ems the Burg Neu-Ems (also "Schloss Glopper") is located, built in 1343. In 1407 both castles were destroyed during the Appenzell Wars and rebuilt shortly afterwards. Burg Neu-Ems is still intact today and in the private property of the Waldburg-Zeil family. The Renaissance palace in the centre of Hohenems

The Renaissance palace stands at the foot of the Schlossberg and dominates the main square of town, the Schlossplatz. It was built from 1562 to 1567 under the direction of architect Martino Longhi the Elder. Religious war and the plague devastated the area in the next century, ironically the time of the greatest power of the (Protestant) Counts of Hohenems, when they acquired Vaduz Castle from what became Liechtenstein nearby. In the 18th century Hohenems was noted for the discovery of two manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied, found in 1755 and 1779 in the palace's library.

Post Office opened September 1771
ZIP-Code (AT) 6845