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63-480: Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland . It is named after the river Thur , and the name Thurgovia was historically used for a larger area, including part of this river's basin upstream of the modern canton. The area of what is now Thurgau was acquired as subject territories by the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the mid 15th century. Thurgau was first declared a canton in its own right at

126-514: 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

189-807: 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 the lake. Lake Constance is located along the Rhine between the Alpine Rhine , its main tributary , and the High Rhine , its outflow. It

252-590: A member of the Swiss confederation. The cantonal coat of arms was designed in 1803, based on the coat of arms of the Kyburg family, which ruled the Thurgau in the 13th century, changing the background to green-and-white, at the time considered "revolutionary" colours (c.f. tricolour ); as the placement of a yellow ( or ) charge on white ( argent ) is a violation of heraldic principles, there have been suggestions to modify

315-759: 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

378-684: 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

441-580: 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 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

504-618: 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

567-524: 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

630-560: 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 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

693-728: 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, 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

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756-493: 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 is 395 m (1,296 ft) above sea level . Its greatest depth is 252 metres (827 ft), exactly in

819-685: 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 is a Zungenbecken or Tongue lake. After the end of the last glacial period , about 10,000 years ago,

882-671: 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

945-891: 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 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

1008-539: 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

1071-585: 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

1134-631: 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,

1197-773: 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

1260-601: 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

1323-518: The canton of St. Gallen ; to the west lie the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen . The area of the canton is 991 km (383 sq mi) and commonly divided into three hill masses. One of these stretches along Lake Constance in the north. Another is further inland between the Thur and the river Murg . The third one forms the southern border of the canton and merges with the Hörnli mountain in

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1386-654: 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 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

1449-653: 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

1512-684: 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 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

1575-505: 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

1638-611: 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,

1701-494: 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 is an important source of drinking water for southwestern Germany. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin

1764-532: 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

1827-412: 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 , 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

1890-484: The canton . The ten largest municipalities by population are: The canton of Thurgau is known for its agricultural produce. Particularly, apples, pears. The many orchards in the canton are mainly used for the production of cider. Wine is produced in the Thur valley. There is also industry in the canton of Thurgau. The main industries are printing, textiles and handicrafts. Small and middle-sized businesses are important for

1953-500: The cantonal economy. Many of these are concentrated around the capital. Eastern Switzerland Eastern Switzerland ( German : Ostschweiz , French : Suisse orientale , Romansh : Svizra orientala , Italian : Svizzera orientale ) is the common name of the region situated to the east of Glarus Alps , with the cantons of Schaffhausen , Thurgau , St. Gallen , Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Appenzell Innerrhoden , and Glarus . The north of canton of Graubünden (with

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2016-470: 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 the Lower Lake is Radolfzell . The largest islands are Reichenau in the Lower Lake, and Lindau and Mainau in the Upper Lake. Bodanrück ,

2079-501: The city of Chur ) is usually considered to be part of Eastern Switzerland as well. Eastern Switzerland is also defined as one of the NUTS -2 regions of Switzerland . In this case, it includes the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, and Thurgau. 47°18′N 9°18′E  /  47.3°N 9.3°E  / 47.3; 9.3 This Switzerland location article

2142-474: The cloister of Ittingen in the Thurgau, driving out monks, destroying documents, and devastating the wine-cellar. Between 1526 and 1531, most of the Thurgau's population adopted the new Reformed faith spreading from Zurich; Zurich's defeat in the 1531 Second War of Kappel ended Reformed predominance. Instead, the First Peace of Kappel protected both Catholic and Reformed worship , though the provisions of

2205-475: The design, including a 1938 suggestion to use a solid green field divided by a diagonal white line, but they were unsuccessful. The current cantonal constitution of Thurgau dates from 1987. To the north the canton is bound by the Lake Constance across which lies Germany ( Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria ) and Austria ( Vorarlberg ). The Rhine creates the border in the northwest. To the south lies

2268-666: The early medieval period were Konstanz as the seat of the bishop and St. Gallen for the Abbey of Saint Gall . The dukes of the House of Zähringen and the counts of the Kyburg family took over much of the land in the High Middle Ages . The town of Zürich was part of the Thurgau until it became reichsunmittelbar in 1218. When the Kyburg dynasty became extinct in 1264 the House of Habsburg took over that land. The Old Swiss Confederacy allied with ten freed bailiwicks of

2331-534: 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

2394-782: 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

2457-420: 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

2520-417: The formation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798. The population, as of December 2020, is 282,909. In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 resident foreigners, constituting 19.9% of the population. In prehistoric times the lands of the canton were inhabited by people of the Pfyn culture along Lake Constance . During Roman times the canton was part of the province Raetia until 450, when Alemanni settled on

2583-463: The former Toggenburg seized the lands of the Thurgau from the Habsburgs in 1460, and it became a subject territory of seven Swiss cantons (Zurich, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Glarus). During the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland , both the Catholic and emerging Reformed parties sought to swing the subject territories, such as the Thurgau, to their side. In 1524, in an incident that resonated across Switzerland, local peasants occupied

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2646-419: 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

2709-443: 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 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

2772-415: The lands. In the sixth century, Thurgovia became a Gau of Francia as part of Alamannia , passing to the Duchy of Swabia in the early 10th century. At this time, Thurgovia included not just what is now the canton of Thurgau, but also much of the territory of the modern canton of St. Gallen , the Appenzell and the eastern parts of the canton of Zürich . The most important cities of Thurgovia in

2835-410: 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

2898-499: 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

2961-487: 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 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

3024-450: 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

3087-400: 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

3150-447: 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 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

3213-400: 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 the regulated Alpine Rhine flows into the lake in the southeast near Bregenz , Austria, then through

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3276-616: The pre-Alps. The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) is 282,909. The canton is mostly German speaking. The population (as of 2000) is split between Protestants (45%) and Roman Catholics (36%). The historical population is given in the following table: Since January 2011, Thurgau has been divided into five districts which are named after their capitals. Before this date, there were eight districts - ( Steckborn District , Bischofszell District and Diessenhofen District formed their own districts with their surrounding municipalities). As of 2009, there are 80 municipalities in

3339-523: 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

3402-462: 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, 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

3465-407: 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

3528-456: 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 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,

3591-442: 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 , 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

3654-422: The treaty generally favored the Catholics, who also made up a majority among the seven ruling cantons. Religious tensions over the Thurgau were an important background to the First War of Villmergen (1656), during which Zurich briefly occupied the Thurgau. In 1798 the land became a canton for the first time as part of the Helvetic Republic . In 1803, as part of the Act of Mediation , the canton of Thurgau became

3717-588: 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

3780-407: 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

3843-414: 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

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3906-407: 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

3969-407: 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

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