Kreuzkirche am Oelrain (Evangelist Church), Bregenz

Kreuzkirche am Ölrain was founded in 1862 and completed in 1864 for the growing Protestant community. It stands in an area that once formed the residential quarter of Roman Brigantium. During the foundation works, important Roman remains were uncovered. These discoveries did more than fill museum cases; they helped spark systematic Roman archaeology in the region and shaped the early collection of the Vorarlberg Museum.

Designed by Stuttgart architect Christian Friedrich von Leins, who also created Villa Berg, the church follows the Neo-Gothic style and features exposed brick, typical of his work at the time. Its pointed windows and tall tower echo medieval forms, while the brickwork reflects the 19th century. In 1904, it became the first church in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to be electrically lit and heated, a widely reported innovation that highlighted the Protestant community’s progressive outlook.

Inside, the ceiling shows an open wooden roof truss rather than stone vaults, with exposed beams visible above the nave. The layout keeps the focus on the pulpit and altar. The current organ, built by Rieger Orgelbau in 1981, is regularly used for concerts thanks to the strong acoustics. A memorial for soldiers who died in the First World War features a stone crucifix created in 1923 by Albert Bechtold, one of Vorarlberg’s leading 20th-century artists, adding a modern regional layer to the Neo-Gothic setting.