Marienberg Convent, Bregenz

Marienberg Convent began as Villa Raczynski, built between 1875 and 1877 for the Polish Count Karl Eduard Nałęcz-Raczyński as a gift for his wife, Princess Caroline Theresa of Oettingen-Wallerstein. Designed in Neo-Baroque style by architect Stephan Tragl, the villa was later sold after the Countess’s death. In 1904, the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena purchased the property and founded Kloster Marienberg.

The sisters turned the villa into a convent and a school. They added new buildings in the early 20th century, including the Josefsbau in 1907. The complex combines the original villa with later wings built in a similar historic style, with rounded arches and balanced façades. The chapel became the centre of religious life and is still used for prayer and school services.

Today, Marienberg is not just a historic building. It is an active educational centre with a primary school, a middle school, and a higher vocational college for economic professions called HLW Marienberg. Students study and live here, and the chapel and communal spaces remain in daily use, continuing a tradition that began more than a century ago.