74-715: The Markelfinger Winkel is the part of Lake Constance between the upper part of the Mettnau Peninsula and Markelfingen . It is the northwestern continuation of the Gnadensee and its parent lake, the Untersee ("Lower Lake Constance"). It has an area of around one square kilometre. This Konstanz location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lake Constance Lake Constance ( German : Bodensee , pronounced [ˈboːdn̩zeː] ) refers to three bodies of water on
148-575: A Frankish imperial palace ( Königspfalz ), Alamannian ducal seat and mint , which is why the name may have been transferred to the lake ("lake, by which Bodman is situated" = Bodmansee ). From 833/834 AD, in Latin sources, the name appears in its Latinised form lacus potamicus . Therefore, the name actually derived from the Bodman Pfalz (Latinized as Potamum ) was wrongly assumed by monastic scholars like Walahfrid Strabo to be derived from
222-648: A chalet to the north of Lake Geneva in 1976, which inspired him to take up painting and informed the first stages of the " Berlin Trilogy ". Pop singer Phil Collins lives in a home overlooking the lake. Rock band Queen owned and operated Mountain Recording Studios (which is still in use today) in Montreux , and a statue of lead singer Freddie Mercury , who also owned a second home in Montreux, stands on
296-514: A foothold and was then exported into other languages such as Hebrew: ימת קונסטנץ yamat Konstanz and Swahili: Ziwa la Konstanz . In many languages both forms exist in parallel e.g. Romansh : Lai da Constanza and Lai Bodan , Esperanto: Konstanca Lago and Bodenlago . The poetic name, " Swabian Sea", was adopted by authors of the early modern era and the Enlightenment from ancient authors, possibly Tacitus . However, this assumption
370-531: A little "chalet" at the French bank, near Geneva. Actor Charlie Chaplin spent his final years and died in Vevey (there is a memorial statue of him along the promenade; his home at Corsier-sur-Vevey is now a museum of his life and career). Actors Noël Coward , James Mason , Sir Peter Ustinov , Richard Burton , and Audrey Hepburn all lived in villages on the shores of or in view of the lake. David Bowie moved to
444-465: A loud underwater sound that could be measured at a distance. The flash of the exploding gunpowder provided the visual starting cue for the timepiece, and the underwater explosion sound striking a bell provided the finish cue. The lake is rich in wildlife, especially birds: both the common buzzard and the red kite breed here in considerable numbers. Yacht racing is a popular sport, and high-performance catamarans have been developed specifically for
518-411: A scientific footnote, in 1827, Lake Geneva was the site for the first measurement of the speed of sound in (fresh) water. French mathematician Jacques Charles François Sturm and Swiss physicist Daniel Collodon used two moored boats, separated by a measured distance, as the transmitting and receiving platforms for the sounds of exploding gunpowder. The loud airborne sound coupled into the lake, establishing
592-759: A treaty was drawn up between the Hohenstaufen emperor and the Lombard League . Lake Constance also played an important role as a trading post for goods being traded between German and Italian states. During the Thirty Years' War , there were various conflicts over the control of the region during the Lake War (1632–1648). After the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802), which also affected
666-684: Is 251.14 metres (824.0 ft) deep. The three small bays on the Vorarlberg shore have their own names: the Bay of Bregenz, off Hard and Fußach is the Bay of Fussach and, west of that is the Wetterwinkel. Farther west, now in Switzerland, is the Bay of Rorschach. To the north, on the Bavarian side, is the Bay of Reutin. The railway embankment from the mainland to the island of Lindau and
740-485: Is 395 m (1,296 ft) above sea level . Its greatest depth is 252 metres (827 ft), exactly in the middle of the Upper Lake. Its volume is about 48 km (12 cu mi). The lake has two parts. The main east section, called Obersee or "Upper Lake", covers about 473 square kilometres (183 sq mi), including its northwestern arm, the Überlinger See (61 km (24 sq mi)), and
814-779: Is a Zungenbecken or Tongue lake. After the end of the last glacial period , about 10,000 years ago, the Obersee and Untersee still formed a single lake. The downward erosion of the High Rhine caused the lake level to gradually sink and a sill, the Konstanzer Schwelle , to emerge. The Rhine, the Bregenzer Ach , and the Dornbirner Ach carry sediments from the Alps to the lake, thus gradually decreasing
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#1732773115356888-585: Is again considered safe to swim in the lake. Major leisure activities practiced include sailing, wind surfing, boating (including water skiing and wake-boarding), rowing, scuba diving, and bathing. A total of four submarines have plied the depths of Lake Geneva. In 1964, Jacques Piccard launched a tourist-oriented submarine, the Auguste Piccard (named for his explorer father ), for the Swiss National Exhibition, meant to honor
962-563: Is also known for its intensive cultivation of fruit and vegetables . The island of Lindau is located in the east of the Obersee, and is the second largest island. On it is the old town and main railway station of Lindau. The third largest island is Mainau in the southeast of Lake Überlingen. The owners, the family of Bernadotte , have set up the island as a tourist attraction and created botanical gardens and wildlife enclosures. Relatively large, but uninhabited and inaccessible because of their status as nature reserves, are two islands off
1036-751: Is an important source of drinking water for southwestern Germany. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Swiss peak Piz Russein of the Tödi massif of the Glarus Alps at 3,613 metres (11,854 ft) above sea level. It starts with the creek Aua da Russein (lit.: "Water of the Russein"). Lake Constance was formed by the Rhine Glacier during the Quaternary glaciation ice age and
1110-524: Is around 11,500 km (4,400 sq mi), and reaching as far south as Lago di Lei in Italy. The area of the Obersee , or Upper Lake, is 473 km (183 sq mi). It extends from Bregenz to Bodman-Ludwigshafen for over 63.3 kilometres (39.3 mi) and is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) wide between Friedrichshafen and Romanshorn . At its deepest point between Fischbach and Uttwil , it
1184-574: Is called Lavaux and is famous for its hilly vineyards. The average surface elevation of 372 m (1,220 ft) above sea level is controlled by the Seujet Dam [ fr ] in Geneva. Due to climate change , the average temperature of deep water (more than 300 metres or 980 feet deep) increased from 4.4 °C (39.9 °F) in 1963 to 5.5 °C (41.9 °F) in 2016 (an increase of 1.1 °C or 2.0 °F in 53 years), while
1258-652: Is situated where Germany , Switzerland , and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria ; the Swiss cantons of St. Gallen , Thurgau , and Schaffhausen ; and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg . The actual locations of the country borders within the lake are disputed. The Alpine Rhine forms, in its original course ( Alter Rhein ), the Austro-Swiss border and flows into
1332-412: Is the lowest point of the cantons of Valais and Vaud. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is Monte Rosa at 4,634 metres above sea level. The beauty of the shores of the lake and of the sites of many of the places near its banks has long been celebrated. However, it is only from the eastern end of the lake, between Vevey and Villeneuve, that the scenery assumes an Alpine character. On
1406-671: Is the Zeller See (or Zellersee in Swiss Standard German), or Lake Zell . North of the peninsula and swamp land Mettnau lies the lake part Markelfinger Winkel. The drumlins of the southern Bodanrück continue along the bed of these northern parts of the lake. South of the Reichenau, from Gottlieben to Eschenz , stretches the Rheinsee (lit.: "Rhine Lake") with strong Rhine currents in places. Previously this lake part
1480-591: The Council of Constance in the 15th century, the alternative name Lacus Constantinus was used in the (Roman Catholic) Romance language area. This name, which had been attested as early as 1187 in the form Lacus Constantiensis , came from the town of Konstanz at the outflow of the Rhine from the Obersee, whose original name, Constantia, was in turn derived from the Roman emperor, Constantius Chlorus (around 300 AD). Hence
1554-662: The Expo 64 theme of accomplishments by Swiss engineers and industry. After operating through to 1965 in Lake Geneva, Piccard used the vessel for scientific exploration in other parts of the world. Piccard later built the F.-A. Forel , launched in Lake Geneva in 1978 and used primarily for scientific research until it was retired in 2005. In 2011, in a collaborative operation led by École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , two Mir submersibles were used for ten weeks to conduct extensive scientific research in Lake Geneva. On
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#17327731153561628-756: The Gnadensee (lit.: "Lake Mercy") north of the island and north of the peninsula of Mettnau (the Markelfinger Winkel ), and the Zeller See , south of Radolfzell and to the northwest of the Reichenau island, and the mainly Swiss Rheinsee (lit.: "Lake Rhine") – not to be mistaken for the Seerhein (lit.: "Rhine of the Lake(s)") at its start – to the south of the island and with its southwestern arm leading to its effluent in Stein am Rhein . The water of
1702-585: The Hallstatt period is attested by grave mounds , which today are usually found in forests where they have been protected from the destruction by agriculture. Since the late Hallstatt period, the peoples living on Lake Constance are referred to as the Celts . During the La Tène period from 450 BC, the population density decreases, as can be deduced partly due from the fact that no more grave mounds were built. For
1776-631: The Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age, 8,000–5,500 BC) frequented the area without settling, however. Only hunting camps have been confirmed. The earliest Neolithic farmers, who belonged to the Linear Pottery culture , also left no traces behind, because the Alpine foreland lay away from the routes along which they had spread during the 6th millennium BC. This changed only in the middle and late Neolithic when shore settlements were established,
1850-773: The Radolfzeller Aach . The source of the Radolfzeller Aach is the Aachtopf , a karst spring whose waters mostly derive from the Danube Sinkhole . Therefore, the Danube is indirectly also a tributary of the Rhine. Because the Alpine Rhine brings with it drift from the mountains and deposits this material as sediment , the Bay of Bregenz will silt up in a few centuries time. The silting up of
1924-629: The Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps : Upper Lake Constance ( Obersee ), Lower Lake Constance ( Untersee ), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein ( lit. ' Rhine of the lake(s) ' ). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin ( Bodenseebecken ) in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The nearby Mindelsee is not considered part of Lake Constance. The lake
1998-805: The Rohrspitz in the Austrian section of the lake, the Langenargen and Marienschlucht . Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps , shared between Switzerland and France . It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône . Sixty percent (345.31 km or 133.32 sq mi) of the lake belongs to Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud , Geneva and Valais ) and forty percent (234.71 km or 90.62 sq mi) to France (the department of Haute-Savoie ). While
2072-601: The Wollmatinger Ried : the Triboldingerbohl which has an area of 13 ha (32 acres) and Mittler or Langbohl which is just three hectares (7.4 acres) in area. Smaller islands in the Obersee are: In the Untersee are: In Lake Constance there are several peninsulas which vary greatly in size: The shores of Lake Constance consist mainly of gravel. In some places there are also sandy beaches, such as
2146-537: The regulated Alpine Rhine flows into the lake in the southeast near Bregenz , Austria, then through the Upper Lake Constance hardly targeting the Überlinger See , into the Seerhein in the town of Konstanz , then through the Rheinsee virtually without feeding both German parts of the Lower Lake, and finally feeds the start of the High Rhine in Swiss town Stein am Rhein . The lake itself
2220-402: The Austrian railways had already introduced CET the previous year and Switzerland followed in 1894. Because traffic timetables had not been yet updated, CET became the sole valid time around and on Lake Constance in 1895. The earliest recorded reference to the lakes is by Roman geographer Pomponius Mela around 43 AD, calling the upper lake Lacus Venetus and the lower lake Lacus Acronius ,
2294-516: The Bavarian Munich time was observed, and Bregenz used Prague time, while the Swiss shore used Berne time. One would have needed to travel only 46 kilometres (29 mi) to visit five time zones. Given the amount of trade and traffic over Lake Constance, this led to serious confusion. Public clocks in harbors used three different clock faces, depending on the destinations offered by the boat companies. In 1892, all German territories used CET ,
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2368-653: The French: Lac de Constance , Italian: Lago di Costanza , Portuguese: Lago de Constança , Spanish: Lago de Constanza , Romanian: Lacul Constanța , Greek: Λίμνη της Κωνσταντίας – Limni tis Konstantias . The Arabic, بحيرة كونستانس buħaira Konstans and the Turkish, Konstanz gölü , probably go back to the French form of the name. Even in Romance-influenced English the name "Lake Constance" gained
2442-644: The Greek word potamos for "river" and meant "river lake". They may also have been influenced by the fact that the Rhine flowed through the lake. Wolfram von Eschenbach describes it in Middle High German as the Bodemensee or Bodemsee which has finally evolved into the present German name, Bodensee . The name may be linked to that of the Bodanrück , the hill range between Lake Überlingen and
2516-586: The Lower Lake is Radolfzell . The largest islands are Reichenau in the Lower Lake, and Lindau and Mainau in the Upper Lake. Bodanrück , a large peninsula, separates the Upper and Lower Lake. While in English and in the Romance languages , the lake is named after the city of Constance , the German name derives from the village of Bodman (municipality of Bodman-Ludwigshafen ), in the northwesternmost corner of
2590-524: The Lower Lake, and the history of the House of Bodman . The German name of the lake, Bodensee , has been adopted by many other languages, for example: Dutch: Bodenmeer , Danish: Bodensøen , Norwegian: Bodensjøen , Swedish: Bodensjön , Finnish: Bodenjärvi , Russian: Боденское озеро , Polish: Jezioro Bodeńskie , Czech: Bodamské jezero , Slovak: Bodamské jazero , Hungarian: Bodeni-tó , Serbo-Croatian: Bodensko jezero , Albanian: Liqeni i Bodenit . After
2664-505: The Obersee are (counterclockwise) the Dornbirner Ach , Bregenzer Ach , Leiblach , Argen , Schussen , Rotach , Brunnisach , Seefelder Aach , Stockacher Aach , Salmsacher Aach , the Aach near Arbon , Steinach , Goldach and the Old Rhine . The outflow of the Obersee is the Seerhein , which in turn is the main tributary of the Untersee. The most important tributary of the Untersee is
2738-611: The Rhine boundary in the 3rd century BC, the Alemanni gradually settled on the north shore of Lake Constance and, later, on the south bank as well. After the introduction of Christianity , the cultural significance of the region grew as a result of the founding of Reichenau Abbey and the Bishopric of Constance . Under the rule of the Hohenstaufens , Imperial Diets ( Reichstage ) were held by Lake Constance. In Constance, too,
2812-440: The Rhine passing through both. Around 75 AD, The naturalist Pliny the Elder called them both Lacus Raetiae Brigantinus after the main Roman town on the lake, Brigantium (later Bregenz). This name is associated with the Celtic Brigantii who lived here, although it is not clear whether the place was named after the tribe or the inhabitants of the region were named after their main settlement. Ammianus Marcellinus later used
2886-486: The Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Swisstopo , Lac de Genève designates that part of the Petit Lac which lies within the cantonal borders of Geneva (excluding the cantonal exclave Céligny ), so about from Versoix – Hermance to the Rhône outflow in Geneva. The Chablais Alps border is its southern shore, and the western Bernese Alps lie over its eastern side. The high summits of Grand Combin and Mont Blanc are visible from some places. The lake lies on
2960-421: The Upper Lake runs approximately along the line between the southeast tip of Bodanrück (the Hörnle , which belongs to the town of Konstanz) and Meersburg. The Constance Hopper lies between the German and Swiss shores east of Konstanz . The Obersee and Untersee are connected by the Seerhein . The Untersee , or Lower Lake, which is separated from the Obersee and from its north-west arm, the Überlinger See, by
3034-429: The average temperature of surface water (five metres or 16 feet deep) increased from 10.9 °C (51.6 °F) in 1970 to 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) in 2016 (up 2 °C or 3.6 °F in 46 years). Lake Geneva (and particularly the lakeside parts of the city of Geneva) can be affected by the cold Bise , a northeasterly wind. This can lead to severe icing in winter. The strength of the Bise wind can be determined by
Markelfinger Winkel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-459: The bed of the lake, and it appears that within the historical period, the waters extended about 2 km (1.2 mi) beyond the present eastern margin of the lake. The greatest depth of the lake, in the broad portion between Évian-les-Bains and Lausanne , where it is just 13 km (8.1 mi) in width, has been measured as 310 m (1,020 ft), putting the bottom of the lake at 62 m (203 ft) above sea level . The lake's surface
3182-500: The course of the Rhône . The river has its source at the Rhône Glacier near the Grimsel Pass to the east of the lake and flows down through the canton of Valais , entering the lake between Villeneuve and Le Bouveret , before flowing slowly towards its egress at Geneva . Other tributaries are La Dranse, L'Aubonne, La Morges, La Venoge , La Vuachère, and La Veveyse. Lake Geneva is the largest body of water in Switzerland, and greatly exceeds in size all others that are connected with
3256-434: The death warrant of English King Charles I , was granted on 16 April 1662 protection in and continued to live at Vevey until his death in 1692. Mary and Percy Shelley and Lord Byron holidayed by the lake and wrote ghost stories, one of which became the basis for the novel Frankenstein . The Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) was stabbed to death on the quayside in Geneva in September 1898. Vladimir Lenin rented
3330-432: The depth and reducing the extension of the lake in the southeast. In antiquity, the two lakes had different names; later, for reasons which are unknown, they came to have the same name. In the 19th century, there were five different local time zones around Lake Constance. Constance, belonging to the Grand Duchy of Baden , adhered to Karlsruhe time, Friedrichshafen used the time of the Duchy of Württemberg , in Lindau,
3404-432: The difference in air pressure between Geneva and Güttingen in canton of Thurgau . The Bise arises when the air pressure in Güttingen is higher than in Geneva. In 563, according to the writings of Gregory of Tours and Marius Aventicensis , a tsunami wave swept along the lake, destroying the fort of Tauredunum and other settlements, and causing numerous deaths in Geneva. Simulations indicate that this Tauredunum event
3478-475: The entire Lake Constance is estimated to take another ten to twenty thousand years. The outflow of the Untersee is the High Rhine with the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen . Both the average precipitation of 0.45 km /a and evaporation which averages 0.29 km /a cause a net change in the level of Lake Constance that is less when compared to the influence of the inflows and outflows. Further quantities of lake water are extracted by municipal waterworks around
3552-409: The exact origins of the name are unknown, the name Lacus Lemanus was in use during the time of Julius Caesar . Lemannus comes from Ancient Greek Liménos Límnē ( Λιμένος Λίμνη ) meaning "port's lake". It became Lacus Lausonius , although this name was also used for a town or district on the lake, Lacus Losanetes , and then the Lac de Lausanne in the Middle Ages . Following
3626-417: The first time, written reports on Lake Constance have survived. Thus, we learn that the Helvetians settled by the lake in the south, the Rhaetians in the area of the Alpine Rhine Valley and the Vindelici in the north-east. The most important places on the lake were Bregenz (Celtic Brigantion ) and today's Constance . In the course of the Roman Alpine campaign of 16/15 BC, the Lake Constance region
3700-420: The first time. The most important Roman site was Bregenz, which soon became subject to Roman municipal law and later became the seat of the Prefect of the Lake Constance fleet. The Romans were also in Lindau , but settled only on the hills around Lindau as the lakeshore was swampy. Other Roman towns were Constantia (Constance) and Arbor Felix ( Arbon ). After the borders of the Roman Empire were drawn back to
3774-419: The form Lacus Brigantiae . The current German name of Bodensee derives from the place name Bodman , which probably originally derived from the Old High German bodamon which meant "on the soils", indicating a place on level terrain by the lake. This place, situated at the west end of Lake Überlingen ( Überlinger See ), had a more supraregional character for a certain period in the early Middle Ages as
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#17327731153563848-419: The lake and the water company of Bodensee-Wasserversorgung . In Lake Constance there are ten islands that are larger than 2,000 m (22,000 sq ft). By far the largest is the island of Reichenau in the Untersee, which belongs to the municipality of Reichenau . The former abbey of Reichenau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its three early and highly medieval churches. The island
3922-476: The lake from the south. The High Rhine flows westbound out of the lake and forms (with the exception of the Canton of Schaffhausen , Rafzerfeld and Basel-Stadt ) the German-Swiss border as far as to the city of Basel . The Leiblach forms the Austria–Germany border east of the lake. The most populous towns on the Upper Lake are Constance ( German : Konstanz ), Friedrichshafen , Bregenz , Lindau , Überlingen and Kreuzlingen . The largest town on
3996-424: The lake originally extended, the shores are enclosed by comparatively high and bold mountains, and the vista terminates in the grand portal of the defile of St. Maurice , cleft to a depth of nearly 2,700 m (8,900 ft) between the opposite peaks of the Dents du Midi and the Dent de Morcles . The shore between Nyon and Lausanne is called La Côte because it is flatter. Between Lausanne and Vevey it
4070-474: The lake. Lake Constance is located along the Rhine between the Alpine Rhine , its main tributary , and the High Rhine , its outflow. It is the third largest freshwater lake by surface area in Central and Western Europe (and the second largest in volume), after Lake Geneva and (in surface area) Lake Balaton . It is 63 km (39 mi) long, and, nearly 14 km (8.7 mi) at its widest point. It covers about 536 km (207 sq mi), and
4144-460: The lake. The design of the Alinghi 5 , the defender of the 2010 America's Cup , was influenced by those racing catamarans. The best-known event, the Bol d'or [ fr ] (not to be confused with other events having the same name) runs from Geneva to the end of the lake and back. The Tour du Lac rowing event also takes place on Lake Geneva. Competitors row once around the entire lake, making this 160-kilometre (99 mi) event
4218-410: The large peninsula of Bodanrück , has an area of 63 km (24 sq mi). It is strongly characterised and divided into different areas by end moraines , various glacial snouts and medial moraines . These various areas of the lake have their own names. North of Reichenau Island is the Gnadensee . West of the island of Reichenau, between the peninsula of Höri and the peninsula of Mettnau
4292-499: The larger rivers, especially that of the Alpine Rhine. The silting up process is accelerated by ever-increasing erosion by the Rhine and the associated reduction in the level of the lake. The main tributary of Lake Constance is the Alpine Rhine . The Alpine Rhine and the Seerhein do not mix greatly with the waters of the lake and flow through the lakes along courses that change relatively little. There are also numerous smaller tributaries (236 in all). The most important tributaries of
4366-684: The longest non-stop rowing regatta in the world. Several competitions for swimmers are organised yearly, the longest of which spans the length of the lake from Chillon Castle to Geneva (70km) and is known as The Signature . Other events include the crossing of the lake from Lausanne to Evian (13km), from Montreux to Clarens (1.8 km), in Geneva (1.8 km), all in summer, and the Coupe de Noël , 125m in Geneva in December. Canton of Valais (VS): Haute-Savoie : Canton of Vaud (VD): Haute-Savoie : VD: ( * Lac de Genève, see also Geography ) Haute-Savoie: Canton of Geneva (GE): VD: GE: Edmund Ludlow , famous as one who had signed
4440-409: The main valleys of the Alps . It is in the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing south, the northern shore being 95 km (59 mi) and the southern shore 72 km (45 mi) in length. The crescent form was more regular in a recent geological period, when the lake extended to Bex , about 18 km (11 mi) south of Villeneuve. The detritus of the Rhône has filled up this portion of
4514-450: The middle of the former Duchy of Swabia , which also included parts of today's Switzerland. Today the name Swabian Sea ( Schwäbisches Meer ) is only used jocularly as a hyperbolic term for Lake Constance. No Paleolithic finds have been made in the immediate vicinity of the lake, because the region of Lake Constance was long covered by the Rhine Glacier . The discovery of stone tools ( microliths ) indicate that hunters and gatherers of
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#17327731153564588-400: The motorway bridge over the lake border the so-called Little Lake ( Kleiner See ), which is located between the Lindau village of Aeschach and the island. The northwestern, finger-shaped arm of the Obersee is called Überlinger See (or Überlingersee in Swiss Standard German ), or Lake Überlingen . It is sometimes regarded as a separate lake, the boundary between Lake Überlingen and the rest of
4662-523: The region and during which Austrian and French flotillas operated on Lake Constance, there was a reorganisation of state relationships. Lake Constance is located in the foothills of the Alps . The shore length of both main lakes is 273 kilometres (170 mi) long. Of this, 173 kilometres (107 mi) are located in Germany ( Baden-Württemberg 155 kilometres or 96 miles, Bavaria 18 kilometres or 11 miles), 28 kilometres (17 mi) run through Austria and 72 kilometres (45 mi) through Switzerland. If
4736-430: The rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (translated into English as Lake Geneva ), but Le Léman was the common name on all local maps and is the customary name in the French language. In contemporary English , the name Lake Geneva has become predominant. Lake Geneva is divided into three parts because of its different types of formation (sedimentation, tectonic folding, glacial erosion): According to
4810-435: The smaller west section, called Untersee or "Lower Lake", with an area of about 63 square kilometres (24 sq mi). The connection between these two lakes is the Seerhein (lit.: "Rhine of the Lake(s)"). Geographically, usually it is not considered to be part of the lake, but a very short river. The Lower Lake Constance is loosely divided into three sections around the Island of Reichenau . The two German parts,
4884-407: The so-called pile dwelling and wetland settlements , which have now been uncovered mainly on Lake Überlingen, the Constance Hopper and on the Obersee. At Unteruhldingen , a pile dwelling village has been reconstructed, and now forms an open air museum. In 2015, a 20 km line of about 170 man-made under-water stone mounds [ de ] dated in the neolithic period or early Bronze Age
4958-506: The south side, the mountains of Savoy and Valais are for the most part rugged and sombre, while those of the northern shore fall in gentle vine-covered slopes, thickly set with villages and castles. The snowy peaks of the Mont Blanc Massif are shut out from the western end of the lake by the Voirons mountain, and from its eastern end by the bolder summits of the Grammont , Cornettes de Bise , and Dent d'Oche , but are seen from Geneva, and between Nyon and Morges . From Vevey to Bex, where
5032-588: The upper and lower lakes are combined, Lake Constance has a total area of 536 km (207 sq mi), the third largest lake in Central Europe by area after Lake Balaton (594 km or 229 sq mi) and Lake Geneva (580 km or 220 sq mi). It is also the second largest by water volume (48.5 km or 11.6 cu mi or 39,300,000 acre⋅ft ) after Lake Geneva (89 km or 21 cu mi or 72,000,000 acre⋅ft) and extends for over 69.2 kilometres (43.0 mi) between Bregenz and Stein am Rhein . Its catchment area
5106-407: Was based on an error (similar to that of the Teutoburg Forest and the Taunus ): the Romans sometimes used the name Mare Suebicum for the Baltic Sea , not Lake Constance. In times when the Romans had located the so-called " Suebi ", then an Elbe Germanic tribe near a sea, this was understandable. The authors of the Early Modern Period overlooked this and adopted the name for the largest lake in
5180-414: Was discovered on the south-west shore of the lake between Bottighofen and Romanshorn. Grave finds from Singen am Hohentwiel date to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age and shore settlements were repeatedly built during the Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age (up to 800 BC). During the following Iron Age the settlement history is interrupted. The settlement of the shore of Lake Constance during
5254-407: Was integrated into the Roman Empire . During the campaign, there was also supposed to have been a battle on Lake Constance . The geographer, Pomponius Mela , makes the first mention in 43 AD of Lake Constance as two lakes – the Lacus Venetus (Upper Lake) and the Lacus Acronius (Untersee) – with the Rhine flowing through both. Pliny the Elder referred to Lake Constance as Lacus Brigantinus for
5328-468: Was most likely caused by a massive landslide near the Rhône delta, which caused a wave eight metres (26 ft) high to reach Geneva within 70 minutes. In 888, the town was part of the new Kingdom of Burgundy , and, with it, was absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. In the late 1960s, pollution made it dangerous to swim at some beaches of the lake; indeed, visibility underwater
5402-407: Was named Lake Bernang after the village of Berlingen . On most of the maps the name of the Rheinsee is not shown, because this place is best suited for the name of the Untersee. The present-day shape of Lake Constance has resulted from the combination of several factors: Like any glacial lake, Lake Constance will also silt up by sedimentation . This process can best be observed at the mouths of
5476-433: Was near zero. By the 1980s, intense environmental pollution ( eutrophication ) had almost wiped out all the fish. Endemic whitefish species Coregonus fera was last recorded in the lake in 1920 and is now extinct. Although the name fera is still used for the only coregonid present in the lake, this is not the original species but the introduced C. palaea . Today, pollution levels have been dramatically cut back, and it
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