Constance or Konstanz - character remains the same
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AS YOU go around Europe, you become used to places having at least two names, usually as a result of wars changing boundaries. Konstanz seems to have more than usual.
We call it Constance, and the lake Constance, they call it Konstanz, on Lake Konstanz, the Swiss call the lake Bodensee, and the Romans called it Constantia. I’ll use the German version.
Konstanz sits at the northern end of the lake, which they claim is the largest in Germany, although according to my map there is a dotted line down the middle of it as half of it is Swiss. It is a medium sized town, with a population of 82,000 people, and is very, very old. It’s strategic position at the lake end, where the river Rhine flows out on its way to the North Sea, made it an important place for trade and pilgrims. And armies, of course.
In the irregularly shaped square in front of the Cathedral there is an incongruous glass pyramid. Look into it and you see the Roman fortifications that were there. The cathedral, by the way, is the most impressive I have seen; it really takes your breath away.
To get there, the easiest way for us would be to fly to Zurich and catch one of the regular, direct trains, which take just one hour to Konstanz. The Swiss trains stop here and turn back, and there is a Swiss part of the station, which matches the town; it is built in the style of a fairytale castle. Nearby is the tourist office, very helpful people, and armed with a map I was able to easily walk around.
The railway line is by the lake, and this gives a special character to Konstanz, including a mild climate all year round. Just behind the tourist office on the lakeside is a massive building, known as the Council House, or Kaufhaus am Hafen, and was built in 1388 as a grain warehouse. Turn round, and you are struck by an amazing statue on the end of one of the piers. This is “Imperia”, a seductive lady, 9 metres high, weighing 18 tonnes, who slowly revolves. She is holding up her hands; on one sits a grotesque figure with an imperial crown, and on the other one a papal tiara, to represent temporal and spiritual power. Apparently, Imperia refers to a 19 century Italian courtesan of that name.
Further along is the huge Steinberger Inselhotel, started as a monastery in 1235, since when it has been all sorts of things, including the birthplace of the air ship pioneer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1838. Herr Zeppelin built the massive airships at Friedrichshafen, just down along the lake. You can get there by fast catamaran (about 40 minutes journey) for around 29 euros, every hour. See www.der-katamaran.de for more details. One of the catamarans is called “Constanze” – another variation!
There was a great spin-off from the Zeppelin work, including ZF gearboxes, transmissions, and so on, and Friedrichshafen is worth a visit, Of course, with all that engineering there, it took a lot of punishment from bombers during the war, but today is bright and busy, with interesting museums dedicated to the airships. This is just one of many places around the lake that can be visited by road, train or boat.
Walking around Konstanz is easy, mostly pedestrianised or traffic calmed, and the old buildings are everywhere – maybe a bit too cleaned up and polished, some of them look quite recent, until you see the plaque or writing saying that it is from 1539. There is the site on which once stood a big synagogue, until the Nazis destroyed it in 1938. From shopping streets, with signs and a large fountain that has bronze animals, much appreciated by the children who climb all over them, you go to the Rhine where there are two towers – all that is left of the fortification that protected the original bridge over the river.
There is one other gateway, the Schnetztor, 14 century, all the other gates and walls have been demolished over the centuries. The whole town has an air of calm, light and culture. To cater for the summer visitors, there are concerts and plays, and a casino.
Of course, being in Germany, it is in the Eurozone, but even so, things were not too expensive, and it was tempting to sit at any one of the many outside tables of the cafes and restaurants along with the locals, and university students.
All in all, a very civilised place to spend some time, with lots of interesting options for excursions.
When it was time to leave, I decided to walk across the border (just at the edge of the town) to the Swiss station of Kreuzlingen, a stone’s throw away.
I walked along the harbour front, past rows of cafes, boat chandlers, car parks, and suddenly realised that I was on a roadway that crossed the railway line into the town again, a fence beside me funnelled traffic to a border post in the middle of the road.
Perhaps I should smartly about turn before guards or dogs started wondering why I was trying to dodge the border check – but then as I looked closer, the border post was unmanned, so I just stepped around the fence and carried on. This seemed to me to typify the relaxed atmosphere of Konstanz.
If you would like to find out more, go to www.konstanz-tourismus.de web site, where you can even take a virtual tour, with English text, to see what I have been describing.
