Martinsturm (St. Martin’s Tower), Bregenz (must see)

Martinsturm rises above the upper quarter as one of the oldest preserved buildings in the area. Its lower sections date to around 1250, when it functioned as a keep and granary within the medieval town walls. The thick stone walls and small openings reflect this defensive purpose. In the 14th century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Martin was integrated into the tower, giving it both military and religious roles.

Inside the chapel, late Gothic frescoes from about 1360 remain among the most important medieval wall paintings in the Vorarlberg region. The scenes present biblical figures in clear compositions typical of the period. Their survival offers rare insight into the artistic and devotional life of the late Middle Ages in this part of the Alps.
Another unusual object displayed here is the so-called “giant’s rib.” Long believed to be the bone of a mythical giant, it is in fact a prehistoric whale bone. The legend attached to it shows how earlier generations interpreted unusual natural discoveries and integrated them into local storytelling traditions.

In 1601, the tower received its distinctive wooden onion dome, designed by Benedetto Prato. This addition marked the first major Baroque building at Lake Constance and influenced later architecture around the Bodensee. It is widely regarded as the largest historic timber-framed Baroque onion dome in Central Europe among comparable structures, and it continues to define the tower’s silhouette.

Today, the building houses the redesigned Martinsturm Museum. The exhibition focuses strongly on urban history, tracing how the town developed from its medieval fortified core into a modern provincial capital. Visitors who climb the upper levels are rewarded with wide views over the old quarter, Lake Constance, and the surrounding landscape.