Bregenz is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria. The town is located on the eastern shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the east and Germany in the northwest. The city is situated on a plateau falling in a series of terraces to the lake at the foot of Pfänder mountain. It is a junction of the arterial roads from the Rhine valley to the German Alpine foothills, with cruise ship services on Lake Constance .Bregenz is twinned with Bangor in Northern Ireland, and various exchange trips take place between the two places. Another twin town is Akko in Israel.It is especially famous for the annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele.The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is a world-famous festival which takes place on and around a stage on Lake Constance, where a different opera is performed every second year.