Kennelbach is a municipality in the district of Bregenz

Bregenz (district)

The Bezirk Bregenz is an administrative district in Vorarlberg, Austria. It comprises the Bregenzerwald region, the Leiblach valley, and the Austrian part of Lake Constance....

, Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

.

As of February 2011, it is the operational headquarters of the sporting goods manufacturer Head

Head (company)

Head N.V. is a sports equipment and clothing company, known mainly for their alpine skis and tennis racquets. Founded as a ski company in Baltimore, Maryland, the company is currently headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Kennelbach, Austria...

, along with Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, the corporate headquarters.

Geography

The municipality lies south of Lake Constance

Lake Constance

Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

. About 54 percent of its territory is forested.

History

The Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 dynasty ruled Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...

 alternately from the Tyrol

County of Tyrol

The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...

 or from Freiburg im Breisgau. From 1805 to 1814, Kennelbach belonged to Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, and then again to Austria. It has been part of the Austrian state of Vorarlberg since its establishment in 1861. In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, it was strongly influenced by the Schindler

Schindler

-People:* Alexander Schindler , leading figure of American Reform Judaism* Allen R. Schindler, Jr. , was United States Navy officer, victim of a hate crime...

industrial family, whose cotton spinning factories closed in 1968. The former Schindler family home, Villa Grünau, has belonged to the municipal government since 1992 and is the home of the municipal government. From 1945 to 1955, the municipality was part of the French occupation zone of Austria.