Feldkirch railway station is situated in Bahnhofplatz, in the northern Feldkirch district of Levis, between the Ardetzenberg and the Känzele.
History
The station was opened on 1 July 1872, together with the rest of the Vorarlberg railway.[1] The original station building was repeatedly extended from 1884, as the Arlberg railway transformed Feldkirch into an international transport hub.
In the 1960s, the original station building was torn down. In early 1969, the new building was put into operation.
Between 1999 and 2001, the station was renovated and rebuilt again, as part of the ÖBB-Bahnhofsinitiative. The renovation work included replacement of the platforms, the pedestrian underpass and the station building.
In 2010, in a survey conducted by the Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ), the station was nominated by the interviewed passengers as the sixth most beautiful railway station in Austria.[2]
Services
Feldkirch is one of Vorarlberg's major railway stations. It also serves as a loading station for the motorail train from Feldkirch to Vienna, Graz and Villach. Additionally, Feldkirch is the border station of the line to Buchs; it is the only Austrian border station adjacent to the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Customs
Feldkirch station is, for customs purposes, a border station for passengers arriving from Liechtenstein and Switzerland. As such, checks may be performed in the station by Austrian customs officials. Systematic passport controls were reduced when Switzerland joined the Schengen Area in 2008 and later scrapped when Liechtenstein joined in 2011.[3][4][5]
Notable visitors
James Joyce
Irish writer James Joyce paid a visit to Feldkirch in 1932 to see his friend Eugene Jolas. During the visit, he said to Jolas, "Over there, on those tracks, the fate of Ulysses was decided in 1915." Since Bloomsday 1994, the quote has been displayed in German translation in the station concourse.
James Joyce quote display in the Feldkirch station concourse.
Joyce had travelled through Feldkirch by train in 1915. Due to World War I, he had been considered an "enemy alien" in his then home town of Trieste, which, at that time, was part of Austria-Hungary. Thanks to influential friends, he had obtained permission to leave Austria-Hungary, with his partner Nora Barnacle and their two shared children, and travel to Zürich. Meanwhile, his brother Stanislaus Joyce was arrested in Trieste and detained until the end of the war.[6]
During border control checks at Feldkirch, the train on which Joyce and Barnacle were travelling was boarded, and passengers inspected by officials; Joyce escaped arrest by a whisker. If Joyce had been arrested then, he would have been unable to write Ulysses in its present form, hence his comment to Jolas.[7]
At the end of 2001, the ÖBB replaced a plaque mounted by the Feldkirch culture circle above the ticket counters on Bloomsday 1994 with a more conspicuous presentation of the Joycean literary quotation.
Upon returning to Austria via the border station at Feldkirch an unforgettable experience stood before me. Even getting out I had noticed a strange unrest in the border guards and policemen. A bell tolled to signal the approach of a train. The policemen stood, all railway officials rushed out of their boxes. Slowly, majestically, the train rolled in, a special kind of train, a Salon train. The locomotive stopped. A motion was palpable through the ranks of those waiting, I still did not know why. Then I saw behind the mirror glass of the coach an erect Emperor Karl, the last Emperor of Austria and his black-clad wife, Empress Zita. I was startled: the last Emperor of Austria, heir to the Habsburg dynasty, which ruled the country for seven hundred years, was leaving his kingdom! As he had refused formally to abdicate, the republic had forced his departure. Now the high serious man stood at the window and saw for the last time the mountains, the houses, the people of his country. ...[explanatory note 1]
^Ritsch, Wolfgang; Stadelmann, Carmel (April 2005). "Vision Rheintal: Eine Raumbezogene Kulturgeschichte" (PDF). Vision-Rheintal website (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
^"Dornbirn hat schönsten Bahnhof Vorarlbergs" [Dornbirn has the most beautiful station in Vorarlberg]. Vorarlberg ORF website (in German). ORF. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
^"Land borders open as Switzerland enters Schengen zone". France 24. 12 December 2008.
^"No more controls on Swiss-Liechtenstein border".
^Weigel, Andreas (2 February 2007). "Feldkirch und das Schicksal. Zum 125. Geburtstag von James Joyce (1882–1941)". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German).
^Weigel, Andreas (2000). "Das Schicksal des "Ulysses". James Joyce und Feldkirch, Vorarlberg". Montfort. Vierteljahreszeitschrift für Geschichte und Gegenwart Vorarlbergs (in German). 52 (3): 289–301.
^Ulrich Nachbaur (March 2009). . Geschichte - Landesgeschichte (in German). Land Vorarlberg. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
Explanatory note
^The truth of this anecdote has since been questioned by biographers of Stefan Zweig: "Zweig asserts in The World of Yesterday that on 24 March 1919 he was an eyewitness in Feldkirch to the historically gratifying moment when Karl and Zita of Habsburg were deported from the Republic of Austria to Switzerland. However, Zweig biographers mistrust this now famous eyewitness account, because neither Zweig, nor his then girlfriend and later wife Friderike Winternitz, who was accompanying him, had ever mentioned or recorded the inherent sensation anywhere before. Zweig first mentioned his story, often since quoted as an historical eyewitness account, in The World of Yesterday, written decades later. Friderike Winternitz, also active as a journalist and writer, similarly first mentioned the legendary anecdote even later than the "Second World War", in her Zweig biography, after learning, in Zweig's "World of Yesterday", of what both of them had (supposedly) seen in Feldkirch. Weigel, Andreas. "Am James Joyce und Stefan Zweig (Rohbericht)". James James-Joyce-Austriaca · James Joyce und Österreich (in German). Yahoo Deutschland Groups. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
Further reading
Beer, Lothar (1994). Die Geschichte der Bahnen in Vorarlberg [The History of the Railways in Vorarlberg] (in German). Vol. 1. Hard, Austria: Hecht-Verlag. ISBN3-85298-001-1.
Beer, Lothar (1995). Die Geschichte der Bahnen in Vorarlberg [The History of the Railways in Vorarlberg] (in German). Vol. 2. Hard, Austria: Hecht-Verlag. ISBN3-85298-015-1.
Fröwis, Franz J. (1981). "Drei Sonderzüge von historischer Bedeutung in Vorarlberg (1917, 1919 und 1921)". Bludenzer Geschichtsblätter (in German). 40/41: 3-43 (Der "Hofsonderzug" vom 24. März 1919), S.23-30 (Über die Abschiebung der Habsburger via Feldkirch in die Schweiz.).
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feldkirch railway station.
Nachbaur, Ulrich: - Literary memories of the flight from Austria to Switzerland in early 1938. (in German)
This article is based upon a translation of the German language version as at August 2011.
January 09, 2023
feldkirch, railway, station, german, bahnhof, feldkirch, serves, city, feldkirch, feldkirch, district, austrian, federal, state, vorarlberg, opened, 1872, forms, junction, between, vorarlberg, railway, feldkirch, buchs, railway, feldkirchview, station, site, f. Feldkirch railway station German Bahnhof Feldkirch serves the city of Feldkirch in the Feldkirch district of the Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg Opened in 1872 it forms the junction between the Vorarlberg railway and the Feldkirch Buchs railway FeldkirchView of the station and the site of the former wagon workshop General informationLocationBahnhofstrasse6800 FeldkirchAustriaCoordinates47 14 28 N 09 36 15 E 47 24111 N 9 60417 E 47 24111 9 60417 Coordinates 47 14 28 N 09 36 15 E 47 24111 N 9 60417 E 47 24111 9 60417Elevation457 m AA Owned byAustrian Federal Railways OBB Operated byOBBLine s Feldkirch Buchs railwayVorarlberg railwayDistance46 912 km 29 150 mi from St MargrethenHistoryOpened1 July 1872 1872 07 01 LocationFeldkirchLocation within AustriaThe station is owned and operated by the Austrian Federal Railways OBB Contents 1 Location 2 History 3 Services 4 Customs 5 Notable visitors 5 1 James Joyce 5 2 Stefan Zweig 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Notes 7 2 Explanatory note 7 3 Further reading 8 External linksLocation EditFeldkirch railway station is situated in Bahnhofplatz in the northern Feldkirch district of Levis between the Ardetzenberg and the Kanzele History EditThe station was opened on 1 July 1872 together with the rest of the Vorarlberg railway 1 The original station building was repeatedly extended from 1884 as the Arlberg railway transformed Feldkirch into an international transport hub In the 1960s the original station building was torn down In early 1969 the new building was put into operation Between 1999 and 2001 the station was renovated and rebuilt again as part of the OBB Bahnhofsinitiative The renovation work included replacement of the platforms the pedestrian underpass and the station building In 2010 in a survey conducted by the Verkehrsclub Osterreich VCO the station was nominated by the interviewed passengers as the sixth most beautiful railway station in Austria 2 Services EditFeldkirch is one of Vorarlberg s major railway stations It also serves as a loading station for the motorail train from Feldkirch to Vienna Graz and Villach Additionally Feldkirch is the border station of the line to Buchs it is the only Austrian border station adjacent to the Principality of Liechtenstein Customs EditFeldkirch station is for customs purposes a border station for passengers arriving from Liechtenstein and Switzerland As such checks may be performed in the station by Austrian customs officials Systematic passport controls were reduced when Switzerland joined the Schengen Area in 2008 and later scrapped when Liechtenstein joined in 2011 3 4 5 Notable visitors EditJames Joyce Edit Irish writer James Joyce paid a visit to Feldkirch in 1932 to see his friend Eugene Jolas During the visit he said to Jolas Over there on those tracks the fate of Ulysses was decided in 1915 Since Bloomsday 1994 the quote has been displayed in German translation in the station concourse James Joyce quote display in the Feldkirch station concourse Joyce had travelled through Feldkirch by train in 1915 Due to World War I he had been considered an enemy alien in his then home town of Trieste which at that time was part of Austria Hungary Thanks to influential friends he had obtained permission to leave Austria Hungary with his partner Nora Barnacle and their two shared children and travel to Zurich Meanwhile his brother Stanislaus Joyce was arrested in Trieste and detained until the end of the war 6 During border control checks at Feldkirch the train on which Joyce and Barnacle were travelling was boarded and passengers inspected by officials Joyce escaped arrest by a whisker If Joyce had been arrested then he would have been unable to write Ulysses in its present form hence his comment to Jolas 7 At the end of 2001 the OBB replaced a plaque mounted by the Feldkirch culture circle above the ticket counters on Bloomsday 1994 with a more conspicuous presentation of the Joycean literary quotation Stefan Zweig Edit In his memoirs The World of Yesterday German Die Welt von Gestern the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig explained that on 24 March 1919 he had been an eyewitness at Feldkirch railway station as Charles I of Austria was deported from the Republic of German Austria into exile in Switzerland 8 Upon returning to Austria via the border station at Feldkirch an unforgettable experience stood before me Even getting out I had noticed a strange unrest in the border guards and policemen A bell tolled to signal the approach of a train The policemen stood all railway officials rushed out of their boxes Slowly majestically the train rolled in a special kind of train a Salon train The locomotive stopped A motion was palpable through the ranks of those waiting I still did not know why Then I saw behind the mirror glass of the coach an erect Emperor Karl the last Emperor of Austria and his black clad wife Empress Zita I was startled the last Emperor of Austria heir to the Habsburg dynasty which ruled the country for seven hundred years was leaving his kingdom As he had refused formally to abdicate the republic had forced his departure Now the high serious man stood at the window and saw for the last time the mountains the houses the people of his country explanatory note 1 Stefan Zweig The World of Yesterday Stockholm Bermann Fischer Verlag AB 1942See also Edit Trains portal Architecture portal Austria portalHistory of rail transport in Austria Rail transport in AustriaReferences EditNotes Edit Ritsch Wolfgang Stadelmann Carmel April 2005 Vision Rheintal Eine Raumbezogene Kulturgeschichte PDF Vision Rheintal website in German Retrieved 13 August 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a External link in code class cs1 code work code help Dornbirn hat schonsten Bahnhof Vorarlbergs Dornbirn has the most beautiful station in Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ORF website in German ORF 25 August 2010 Archived from the original on 22 July 2012 Retrieved 13 August 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a External link in code class cs1 code work code help Switzerland s Schengen entry finally complete Land borders open as Switzerland enters Schengen zone France 24 12 December 2008 No more controls on Swiss Liechtenstein border Weigel Andreas 2 February 2007 Feldkirch und das Schicksal Zum 125 Geburtstag von James Joyce 1882 1941 St Galler Tagblatt in German Weigel Andreas 2000 Das Schicksal des Ulysses James Joyce und Feldkirch Vorarlberg Montfort Vierteljahreszeitschrift fur Geschichte und Gegenwart Vorarlbergs in German 52 3 289 301 Ulrich Nachbaur March 2009 Am Grenzbahnhof Feldkirch 1919 Visum fur Stefan Zweig 4 Janner 1919 Geschichte Landesgeschichte in German Land Vorarlberg Archived from the original on 28 September 2011 Retrieved 11 August 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a External link in code class cs1 code publisher code help Explanatory note Edit The truth of this anecdote has since been questioned by biographers of Stefan Zweig Zweig asserts in The World of Yesterday that on 24 March 1919 he was an eyewitness in Feldkirch to the historically gratifying moment when Karl and Zita of Habsburg were deported from the Republic of Austria to Switzerland However Zweig biographers mistrust this now famous eyewitness account because neither Zweig nor his then girlfriend and later wife Friderike Winternitz who was accompanying him had ever mentioned or recorded the inherent sensation anywhere before Zweig first mentioned his story often since quoted as an historical eyewitness account in The World of Yesterday written decades later Friderike Winternitz also active as a journalist and writer similarly first mentioned the legendary anecdote even later than the Second World War in her Zweig biography after learning in Zweig s World of Yesterday of what both of them had supposedly seen in Feldkirch Weigel Andreas Am James Joyce und Stefan Zweig Rohbericht James James Joyce Austriaca James Joyce und Osterreich in German Yahoo Deutschland Groups Retrieved 11 August 2011 Further reading Edit Beer Lothar 1994 Die Geschichte der Bahnen in Vorarlberg The History of the Railways in Vorarlberg in German Vol 1 Hard Austria Hecht Verlag ISBN 3 85298 001 1 Beer Lothar 1995 Die Geschichte der Bahnen in Vorarlberg The History of the Railways in Vorarlberg in German Vol 2 Hard Austria Hecht Verlag ISBN 3 85298 015 1 Frowis Franz J 1981 Drei Sonderzuge von historischer Bedeutung in Vorarlberg 1917 1919 und 1921 Bludenzer Geschichtsblatter in German 40 41 3 43 Der Hofsonderzug vom 24 Marz 1919 S 23 30 Uber die Abschiebung der Habsburger via Feldkirch in die Schweiz External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Feldkirch railway station Nachbaur Ulrich Als der Zug langsam in Feldkirch einfuhr Literary memories of the flight from Austria to Switzerland in early 1938 in German This article is based upon a translation of the German language version as at August 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Feldkirch railway station amp oldid 1121729335, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
