Lustenau

Lustenau is a town in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg, in the Dornbirn district. It lies on the Rhine River, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlbergs fourth largest town, in terms of inhabitants (20.806 in the year 2004).

Lustenau has a long and successful history in sports. The towns two soccer teams play in major Austrian soccer leagues. The well-known and successful skier Marc Girardelli was born in Lustenau and the Lustenau ice-hockey team is part of Austrians national hockey league. The town used to be a major center of embroidery industry in the past and is now a center for new technologies industry.

Until 1830 Lustenau was an independent county reigned by the counts of Waldburg-Zeil-Lustenau-Hohenems. After 1830 Lustenau became part of Austria. The name Lustenau derives from a document signed by the carolingian king Karl III with the title "Lustenauua curti regali", meaing "Royal Court Lustenau".