Schwarzenberg

Schwarzenberg is the classic Bregenzerwald village: timber houses clad in hand-split larch shingles that silver with age, set round a square with the church and the Gasthof Hirschen, an inn working since the seventeenth century. Angelika Kauffmann, one of the two women among the founding members of the Royal Academy in London and a successful history painter across Europe, came from this family and village; she painted the apostle panels in the parish church and a local museum holds her work and the family's. The Schubertiade, one of the leading Schubert festivals in the world, runs concerts here and in Hohenems each summer. Modern Bregenzerwald architecture is a subject in its own right - the valley's carpenters and architects have built a body of contemporary timber work.

What you actually see

• Shingled timber houses - hand-split larch weathered silver, round the square.
• Angelika Kauffmann's panels - her apostle paintings in the parish church.
• A museum of her work - the family house holding paintings and material.
• The Schubertiade - the summer concerts, among the leading Schubert festivals.

When to go

May to October; concert dates in summer. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Concert weeks fill the village and accommodation across the valley. The museum has seasonal hours. It is a small village - half a day covers it.

Nearby

Bezau and the Bregenzerwald villages are up the valley; Dornbirn is west.