Konstanz (or ''Constance'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

on the German-

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

border, situated along the shores of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) 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 (). These ...

. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Schwarzwald-Baar, Tuttlingen, Sigmaringen and

Bodenseekreis Bodenseekreis ("Lake Constance district") is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the south-east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west, clockwise) Konstanz, Sigmaringen and Ravensburg, and in Bavaria, Lindau district. ...

. To the south it borders the Swiss cantons of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Thurgau and

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. The municipality of Büsingen am Hochrhein is an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of Germany surrounded by Swiss territory.

History

The district dates back to the ''Bezirksamt Konstanz'', which was created in 1806 when the area became part of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

(since 1810

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

). After some changes in its outline it was changed into the district in 1936, including part of the dissolved ''Bezirksamt Engen''. 1939 the city Constance became district-free, but was reintegrated into the district in 1953. 1973 it was merged with the neighboring district Stockach and some municipalities from the districts Sigmaringen and Donaueschingen.

Geography

The district is located at the north-western shore of Lake Constance, in a landscape called ''Hegau''. The

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Reichenau Island, with its old monastery as well as the flower island Mainau, are part of the district. Also located in the district is the '' Aachtopf'' near the city Aach, the biggest spring in Germany by water volume. The spring actually contains water from the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

which moves through

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

caves underneath the European watershed.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show a fish both in top left as well as the bottom right, representing the fishing industry in the Lake Constance. The cross in the top right is the symbol of the bishopric of Konstanz. The deer antlers in the bottom left were added after the district was merged with the district Stockach. These were taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Veringen-Nellenbach, and were present in the coat of arms of the district Stockach, as well as the city Stockach.

Cities and Towns

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstanz (District) Freiburg (region) Districts of Baden-Württemberg