Every year on 2 November at 10 a.m., the Austrian Armed Forces hold military ceremonies and wreath-laying ceremonies throughout Austria to commemorate the fallen of the two world wars, the victims for Austria’s freedom and the members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty or in peacekeeping missions.
In Vorarlberg, this wreath-laying ceremony traditionally takes place at the Gallus Church in Bregenz at the war memorial in the provincial capital. Due to the Covid-19 protective measures, the commemoration was reduced to the absolutely necessary extent. The fallen and soldiers who died in the line of duty were commemorated without music or a procession of honor, but still with dignity. After the wreaths were blessed by the military priest Alois Erhart, the deputy military commander Colonel Stefan Schneider and the president of the Vorarlberg state parliament Harald Sonderegger laid a wreath as representatives of the Vorarlberg state government. Klaus Allmaier laid a wreath on behalf of the City of Bregenz and Colonel Alwin Denz, President of the Kameradschaftsbund.
The Kaiserjägerdenkmal on Fluherstraße is the memorial site for the fallen Kaiserjäger of the 3rd Regiment of the Tyrolean Kaiserjäger and the Vorarlberg Alpine Jäger Battalion No. 4. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Köck, the commander of Jäger Battalion 23, laid a wreath at the Kaiserjägerdenkmal for the fallen of these units.
