Hello all,
Today I will continue my overview of the costumes of Vorarlberg by looking at the trachten of Walgau. Walgau is a major side valley of southern Vorarlberg, off the Rheintal, and lower than Montafon.
Walgau
region 10
Walgau is a corruption of the original name Welschgau, or Welsch Valley, 'Welsch' being an old Germanic word meaning 'people whose language we don't understand'. This points to the fact that the common language in this valley was Romansh, up until 1620 or so, after which it was replaced by Allemanic. Originally the valley was inhabited by the Celtic tribe Drusus. I will present the local trachten of the valley working my way downstream from the head, where it borders Montafon.
Some of the most typical garments for this valley are the black radhaube, [wheel headdress], and embroidered plastron and handbag. Here are a couple of examples, exact provenance unknown. Some of the trachten typical for this valley are more urban examples.
Bludenz
Bludenz is the largest city in the upper valley. The dress tracht has an urban flair. The juppe is black, and has a wide band of ruched ribbon around the front opening. There is no plastron, and an elbow length blouse is worn under the bodice. The black chenille radhaube is quite tall. The men wear an alpine suit, the vest being black velvet with small floral spot motifs.
There is also a dirndl for this area, which also has a V neck and rows of ribbon bordering it. It may be worn with a jacket similar to the everyday one of Montafon, and is worn with a version of the flat hat so common in Vorarlberg.
The local Trachtengruppe is the oldest in the region, dating back to 1925
Bürs
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The tracht of Bürs has an embroidered plastron, and the bodice is unique in having rounded ends to the shoulder straps which do not overlap, but are fastened together, reminiscent of the dress bodices in neighboring Montafon. It also has a short tail which is worn over the skirt. The black chenille radhaube is worn for dress, and the flat Vorarlberg hat for less dressy occasions.
Nüziders
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The tracht of Nüziders has a collarette, in a gray material with black ribbon borders and small floral spot motifs in the corners. There is an embroidered plastron under a silk bodice, and the black chenille radhaube or flat Vorarlberg hat are worn. The men wear a soft felt hat, a red jacket and a gray vest with distinctive grapevine embroidery. Children wear a dirndl which laces up the front, or lederhosen. The local trachtengruppe is very active.
Thüringen
The local trachtengruppe is called Blumenegg, but I have only been able to find a couple of images. The collarette is of white linen with lace, and the men wear a red vest.
Nenzing
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The tracht of Nenzing is somewhat similar to that of Thüringen. The bodice is made of various colors of silk, usually red, is worn with an embroidered plastron, and edged with black ribbon. Unmarried girls wear a linen collarette krägli, edged with bobbin lace and attached with red ribbons. Women wear a black silk krägli with floral spot designs in the corners. Women wear the flat Vorarlberg hat or the fur cap, girls wear the maiden's crown. The radhaube is not worn in this town. Men wear a frock coat, a top hat or the slouch hat typical of the valley, and a black vest with floral spot designs, similar to that of Bludenz. Boys wear lederhosen and a gray wool vest.
Schnifis
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I have found two variants of the tracht for this town. The one shown in 'Die Trachten in Vorarlberg' shows the men in a red vest and blue jacket. This is also used in the neighboring town of Satteins. See below under Satteins.
The new tracht of Schifis was developed for the local Gemeindemusik, which features a blue vest and light brown jacket for the men.
Schlins
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The tracht of Schlins greatly resembles the old tracht of Schnifis. Here is a photo of a group from both towns. I believe that the people from Schlins are on the left, in the green bodices.
Satteins
The tracht worn in Satteins is very similar to those of Schlins and Schnifis.
Frastanz
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The tracht of Frastanz is again more urban, being just off the Rheintal. The black radhaube is again in evidence.
That concludes my overview of Walgau.
Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
Roman K.
email: rkozakand@aol.com
Source Material:
'Die Trachten in Vorarlberg', Ulrike Bitschnau et al, Bregenz 2022
'Alpentrachten Unserer Zeit', Karl Wolf et al, Wien, 1937
'Trachten in Österreich', Rudolf Fochler, Wels, 1980
'Die Goldene Bodensee-Radhaube', Michael Selb, Wien, 2011
'Österreichische Trachtendirndl', Maria Strnad, Wien, 1950
'Tracht in Österreich', Franz C. Lipp et al, Wien, 1984
'Ostmark Fibel', Kuno Brandauer, Munich, 1941
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