Bezegg-Sul

The Bezegg-Sul is a neo-Gothic memorial column standing on the 800-metre-high Bezegg pass in Andelsbuch, a village in Vorarlberg’s Bregenzerwald. Its local name means ‘column on the Bezegg’, and the structure is protected by law as a historic monument. The pass once marked the geographical heart of the Bregenzerwald, where the so-called ‘Wälderrepublik’ held its assemblies. The column was built in 1871 to commemorate the spot where the free farmers’ republic held its meetings for centuries. From the 14th century onward, a Landammann and council met in a wooden town hall raised on stone pillars, issuing laws recorded in the Landsbrauch. The building was demolished in 1807 during Bavarian reforms, and the new column was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt, a leading Viennese cathedral architect. The sandstone column rises about three and a half metres and has six sides. Three of its facets carry a carved inscription that recalls the old town hall and the republic’s centuries of self-rule. Visitors reach the pass by following forest roads or hiking trails through the Bregenzerwald’s rolling hills. The surrounding landscape offers wide views over the valley and the alpine peaks beyond.