Living in Dornbirn: districts rents, registration
For new residents
Arriving in Dornbirn: trade-fair city in the Rhine Valley
Life between the Ach and the Karren
With 52,252 inhabitants (early 2026), Dornbirn is Vorarlberg's most populous city, the tenth-largest in Austria and the province's largest employment centre. The city lies in the Rhine Valley at the foot of the Bregenzerwald mountains, with the Dornbirner Ach flowing through it. Most people live in the north-west of the municipal area, in six districts; on the slopes to the east lie mountain hamlets such as Watzenegg, Kehlegg and the Walser village of Ebnit. This guide shows what matters in the first few weeks: registration form, flat hunting, city buses, schools and waste disposal.
We have no branch in Vorarlberg; we come from Berlin-Moabit (Stromstraße 21). It is around 739 km to Dornbirn via the A9, A6, A7 and A96 to Lindau and then on via the A14, about eleven and a half hours by lorry including breaks. There are no customs duties between Germany and Austria. Whether it is a flat in Markt, a house in Haselstauden or a new build in Schoren: we plan your private move at a fixed price after a survey. The route is described on the page Moving Berlin – Dornbirn.
A predictable move to Dornbirn
A clear price before moving day
For your move to Dornbirn we look at your household goods, floor and access – on site in Berlin or by video call – and then give you a fixed price. Parking the removal van, assembly or storage appear as separate items in the quote. We are liable for damage under § 451e of the German Commercial Code (HGB), and additional insurance is available. Call us on 01625978461.
Quotes available individually based on workload, scheduling and the desired scope of services.
What we clarify beforehand
Planned in Berlin, arriving in the Rhine Valley
We drive by lorry from Berlin-Moabit to Dornbirn and therefore clarify in advance what matters on arrival day: stairwell and lift, underground car park or access, and the paid parking spaces in the city centre. Where the removal van cannot simply stop, we ask the city about the rules. We are liable for your belongings under § 451e HGB at €620 per cubic metre of loading space; additional insurance is available on request. We set the delivery day so that you can hand in your registration form (Meldezettel) at the town hall within three days – whether for the start of term at the FHV or for your first working day.
Packing
Office and company
Moving in later life
Wardrobe and sofa
How we plan the route to Vorarlberg
The fixed price for your move to Dornbirn is based on volume, floor, carrying distances and the roughly 739 km from Berlin. There are no customs duties within the EU. Parking arrangements, assembly and any storage appear as individual items in the quote.
Fixed dates
Carrying routes sorted
Space outside the door
Plan up to registration
Bridging the gap
Assembly on arrival day
Shared load to Dornbirn
If you are moving to study at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences or are only bringing a few pieces of furniture, you can save with a shared load: your things travel together with other consignments heading for Lake Constance. In return you need some flexibility on the delivery day. We clarify on the phone whether it is worthwhile for your volume.
The
first trips to the authorities
In Austria you register within three days of moving into your accommodation. In Dornbirn the registration office (Meldeamt) in the town hall on Rathausplatz is responsible; you and your accommodation provider (Unterkunftgeber) both sign the registration form. After that come school or nursery, the residents' parking card from the city police and your first trip to the collection depot on Gütlestraße. You get around by city bus, regional bus and train towards Bregenz and Feldkirch. The sections below set out what the city itself says about this.
Registration form (Meldezettel) and papers
House, flat, room
What the move costs
What newcomers want to know: living in Dornbirn
Markt, Hatlerdorf, Haselstauden – the six districts
Dornbirn has always been a single municipality with scattered settlements. Since 1902 there have been the four old districts of Markt (formerly Niederdorf) with the market square, the Red House and St Martin's Church, Hatlerdorf, Oberdorf and Haselstauden. West of the railway line the city grew strongly after 1950; there, Rohrbach and Schoren became districts in their own right in 1994.
On the slopes to the east lie mountain hamlets such as Watzenegg and Kehlegg, with views over the Rhine Valley and high land prices, and further back the Walser village of Ebnit, which became part of Dornbirn in 1932. If you live there, you usually need a car for everyday life.
Work, university and leisure
The largest employer is the Zumtobel Group, headquartered in Dornbirn, followed by Rudolf Ölz Meisterbäcker GmbH. Then there are the Mohren brewery, Spar's Vorarlberg head office and two Blum plants. Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences makes Dornbirn the province's most important higher-education location; Dornbirn Hospital is one of the busiest hospitals in Vorarlberg.
In your free time you can take the cable car up the Karren or head into the Rappenloch Gorge; there are also inatura, the Kulturhaus and the trade fair. We don't quote specific rents without a reliable source.
Moving costs – this is how simple it is
Your move in good hands: for a 1-room flat you pay from €369, for a 2-room flat from €605, for a 3-room flat from €884 and for a 4-room flat from €1,289. For a house or villa we draw up an individual quote especially for you, and we charge fairly for long-distance moves from €3.85/km. Arrange your free survey now – we look forward to hearing from you!
What does a move cost? The key price factors
The moving price depends mainly on the volume of your household goods and the distance between your old and new home – the route is charged from €3.85/km. The floor, whether there is a lift and any parking restriction zone needed also affect the price. Additional services such as furniture assembly or a shared load can also influence the final price.
Services for moving to Vorarlberg
Big or small – we have the right service for you.
- Furniture transport – Safe furniture transport for single items.
- Shared load – An affordable shared load for small volumes.
- Private move – A personal private move for your home.
- Company move – An efficient company move without downtime.
- House clearance – Thorough house clearance for every room.
- Move with assembly – A complete move with assembly with no effort for you.
From Berlin to the Rhine Valley – and back
We plan moves from Stromstraße 21 in Berlin-Moabit, to Dornbirn as well as back again. How the roughly 739 km work is explained on the page Moving Berlin – Dornbirn.
Registering your residence in Dornbirn: registration form, signatures and registration office
Anyone moving into accommodation in Dornbirn is required to register. According to the City of Dornbirn, the registration office (Meldeamt) in the town hall, Rathausplatz 2 (phone +43 5572 306), is responsible; appointments can be booked online. You need a fully completed registration form (Meldezettel), signed at registration by both you and your accommodation provider, as well as a passport or birth certificate together with proof of citizenship. Foreign nationals must present a travel document in every case.
Registration is free; according to the city, registering and deregistering are free of charge. In Austria you can only have one main residence. If you move within Austria, deregistration happens automatically when you register at the new address. A separate deregistration is only needed if you move abroad or give up a secondary residence. If the status of your residence changes, for example from main to secondary residence, you report this as a change of registration with the same documents. A secondary residence arises when you regularly use accommodation for living purposes and maintain ties to your life there until further notice.
Digital registration via oesterreich.gv.at requires ID Austria or EU Login and that you are of legal age. You must also have been registered in Austria at some point before. For newcomers from abroad, the route via the registration office therefore remains. A confirmation of registration costs €3.00 at the counter, and registration forms are available as PDFs on the city's website. How a move from Germany is organised is shown in the guide to long-distance moving to Dornbirn.
Parking, collection depot and housing office in Dornbirn
In the centre, the city manages paid parking via the EasyPark app; this requires registration at v-parking.at (Vorarlberg tariff). According to the city, the current parking charges regulation applies from 1 February 2026. If you live in a residents' zone and keep a multi-track motor vehicle, you can get a residents' parking card from the Dornbirn city police, issued during general opening hours. For the city centre, the city lists 1,350 underground parking spaces and more than 2,000 further parking spaces.
Bulky waste and hazardous substances are accepted at the municipal collection depot on Gütlestraße, garden waste at the collection point in Foracheck. Residual waste, organic waste, paper and metal and plastic packaging in the yellow bag are collected regularly; the dates are in the waste calendar on umweltv.at, which is also available as an app for Vorarlberg. You can reach the waste advice service on +43 5572 306 5555 or by email at [email protected], and the municipal works depot is at Gütlestraße 2. Fee questions, such as the basic waste charge, are also governed by the city's waste collection regulation and waste fees regulation, which you can read on dornbirn.at.
Dornbirn says it owns no flats for home seekers. Instead, the city supports non-profit housing: VOGEWOSI, Wohnbauselbsthilfe and Alpenländische Heimstätte provide flats, which are allocated by the housing committee. Demand clearly exceeds supply. You submit applications in person at the housing office. You will find general information about the town in the Dornbirn moving guide.
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