Reichenau Island () is an island in

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 ...

in Southern Germany. It lies almost due west of the city of

Konstanz Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

, between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance. With a total land surface of and a circumference of , the island is long and wide at its greatest extent. The highest point, the Hochwart, stands some above the lake surface and above mean sea level. Reichenau is connected to the mainland by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

, completed in 1838, which is intersected between the ruins of Schopflen Castle and the eastern end of Reichenau Island by a and waterway, the Bruckgraben. A low road bridge allows the passage of ordinary boats but not of sailing-boats. Reichenau Abbey, founded on the island by bishop Pirmin in 724, quickly developed into an influential religious, cultural, and intellectual center. Because of its historical importance and the exceptional quality of the architecture and artwork found in the island's three churches and abbey, Reichenau was declared a

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 ...

in 2000.

History

Although people occupied Reichenau in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, archeological evidence suggests that Reichenau was abandoned during the Roman era. It remained uninhabited until 724, when the

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Pirmin received support from the Carolingian ruler

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

to build a monastery on the island. The first monastery, at Mittelzel, was wooden, although it was replaced by a stone building by 746. In the early 9th century, under the patronage of the

Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Franks, Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Pippinids, Arnulfi ...

and

Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxons, Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German ...

, the community flourished. In 816 the monastery church of the by-then abbey, was rebuilt in a cruciform

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

style, and churches dedicated to the

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

and Saint Mark were consecrated. Relics of St. Mark arrived at the abbey in the mid-9th century. Two further churches were built on the island consecrated to Saints

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and Paul (in 799) and to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

(in 896). The abbey's

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

was housed in a two-storey stone building to which two more storeys of

timber framing Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

were added in the 14th century, one of the oldest timber-frame buildings in southern Germany. It is today used as a museum of local history. The monastic community of the abbey produced several influential poets and authors, such as Walafrid Strabo (who served as abbot) and scholars such as Hermann of Reichenau and Abbot Reginbert, as well as artists. The famous artworks of Reichenau include (in the church of St George) the Ottonian murals of miracles of Christ, unique survivals from the 10th century. The Plan of St. Gall, the only surviving architectural drawing from the Middle Ages, may also have been created on the island. Among the abbey's far-flung landholdings was Reichenau, a village on the upper Rhine in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Tamins in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, named for the abbey. In the 16th century, the territory of the Prince-Bishopric of Constance was extended to include Reichenau, and as a result the influence of the abbey waned. During the

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the Prince-Bishopric of Constance in 1803, many of the smaller chapels on the island were demolished. In addition, the manuscripts and archives held in the abbey were given to Karlsruhe and the University of Heidelberg library and the surrounding farms were parceled and sold. Today the island is also famous for its vegetable farms. The Wollmatinger Ried next to the island is a large nature reserve, a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

area of reeds, which is used by many birds as a stopover during their annual migration.

Transport

is a railway station on the High Rhine Railway line. It is served by regional trains to and , via . Reichenau has a landing stage. Between spring and autumn, the URh offers regular boat services on the

High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...

and Untersee between

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 ...

and Kreuzlingen, via

Gallery

Kirchtürme von St. Peter und Paul (Niederzell) auf der Insel Reichenau im Bodensee.jpg, 15th-century towers on the Romanesque church of Sts Peter and Paul in Reichenau-Niederzell File:Reichenau Sued-West Ufer.JPG, South West Reichenau Island File:St. Georg Reichenau.JPG, South East Reichenau Island File:StGeorgReichenau-pjt.jpg, St. Georg, Reichenau-Oberzell File:Deutsche Alleenstrasse Reichenau.jpg,

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

-lined Avenue to Reichenau Island File:sanktgeorgsundgemüsefelder.jpg, One of the island's many vegetable fields with Sankt Georg Kirche in the background

Notes

References

External links

Monastic Island of Reichenau
UNESCO Official Website
Reichenau: monastic island

History and images
*
3 spherical panoramas of St. Georg Church

Saint George in Overzell in Circulo Romanico page

Abacial de Santa Maria y San Marcos in Circulo Romanico page

Iglesia de San Pedro y san Pablo in Circulo Romanico
{{Authority control Lake islands of Germany World Heritage Sites in Germany Konstanz (district) Islands of Lake Constance in Germany Islands of Baden-Württemberg Cultural landscapes of Germany