Radolfzell am Bodensee is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

at the western end of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) 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 Lak ...

approximately 18 km northwest of

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was ...

. It is the third largest town, after Constance and

Singen Singen (Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south of Baden-Württemberg ...

, in the district of Konstanz, in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...

. Radolfzell is a well-known health care town (Mettnau) and an important railway junction of the High Rhine Railway and the Hegau-Ablach Valley Railway (leading to the Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway). In 1990 Radolfzell was named the Federal Environment Capital City of Germany.

History

This town developed out of a monastery founded in 826 AD as a "cell" under Bishop Radolf of Verona. The town belonged to the Abbey of Reichenau, then to the house of Habsburg for a long time, and for 40 years was a Free Imperial City. In the centre is the gothic Cathedral of our Dear Lady, dating from the 15th century and decorated in the baroque style in the 18th. One particularly beautiful feature is the Rosary altar by the Zürn brothers and the Master of the House's Altar (1750) which contains the relics of the local Radolfzell saints Theopont, Senesius and Zeno. The "Hausherrenfest" is celebrated in their honour every year on the third Sunday in July, and the next day a famous Water Procession is held, as it has been every year since 1797. The citizens of the nearby village of

Moos Moos may refer to: People Surname * Alexandre Moos (born 1972), Swiss mountain biker * Bill Moos, American athletic director * Carl Moos (1878–1959), Swiss artist * Carolyn Moos (born 1978), American basketball player * David Moos (born 1965), ...

make a pilgrimage to Radolfzell in picturesquely decorated boats to fulfil an ancient oath. Also, there is the Austrian mansion in the market square, built in stages from the 17th to the 19th century, the knightly hall dating from 1626, and various historical patrician houses. Radolfzell was the birthplace of the

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

Martin Waldseemüller's mother. MünsterRadolfzell

Mayors

(Lord Mayor since 1975)

Twin towns – sister cities

Radolfzell am Bodensee is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Istres, France (1974) *

Amriswil Amriswil (Low Alemannic: ''Amerschwiil'') is a town and a municipality in Arbon District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland near the Lake Constance. The official language of Amriswil is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the mai ...

, Switzerland (1999)

Notable people

* Marcus Teggingeri (1540–1600), Roman Catholic prelate *

Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...

(1826–1886) poet and novelist, retired in Radolfzell. * Emil Joseph Diemer (1908–1990), chess player * Wolfgang Ruf (born 1941), musicologist and academic * Werner Bodendorff (born 1958), musicologist and writer * Josef Eichkorn (born 1956), football coach * Jörg Baberowski (born 1961), historian *

Patrick Baur Patrick Baur (born 3 May 1965) is a German former professional tennis player. During his career Baur won 2 singles titles and 2 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 74 in 1991 and a career-high doubles rankin ...

(born 1965), tennis player * Sabine Auer (born 1966), tennis player * Pit Beirer (born 1972), motocross rider * Markus Knackmuß (born 1974), footballer * Kristof Wilke (born 1985), belt rower * Anna-Lena Forster (born 1995),

para-alpine skier Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the Internat ...

References

Towns in Baden-Württemberg Populated places on Lake Constance 826 establishments Konstanz (district) Baden {{Konstanz-geo-stub