Vorarlberg not Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore has much more in common culturally with its (historically) Alemannic-speaking German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Swabia and Alsace than with rest of Austria, southeastern Bavaria, and South Tyrol. Vorarlberg is almost completely mountainous and has been nicknamed the ‘Ländle’ meaning ‘small land’. The main rivers in Vorarlberg are the Ill (running through the Montafon and Walgau valleys into the Rhine), the Rhine (forming the border with Switzerland), the Bregenzer Ache and the Dornbirner Ach. One of the shortest rivers is the Galina. Important lakes, apart from Lake Constance are Lüner Lake, Silvretta Lake,
Vorarlberg are also spoken in Liechtenstein, Switzerland (as Swiss German), Baden-Württemberg, the south west of Bavaria and the Alsace region of France. The Vorarlberg dialect is further divided into a number of regional sub-dialects (e.g. that of the Montafon, the Bregenz Forest and Lustenau are some of the most distinct) which tend to differ considerably from each other. In fact even within these regions the dialects may vary from one town or village to the next. Traditional costumes ("Tracht") have a long history in Vorarlberg. Many valleys and villages have their own kind of garb, each with special characteristics from certain