Dominicans Island
Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / height missing
The Dominicans island or Constance Island is an island in Lake Constance, just east of the town of Konstanz. With an area of 1.8 hectares, it is one of the smaller islands of Lake Constance. The island is separated by only six -meter-wide moat of the old town and connected to it by a bridge. It is dominated by the Steigenberger Insel Hotel, housed in a former Dominican monastery.
Geography
The Dominicans island is from north to south, 246 meters long and up to 100 meters wide.
To the west of 210 meters separates long, but only six meters wide moat, the island from the Old Town district of Lower castle. The shallow moat, which is crossed by a bridge, was formerly much wider and was filled for the construction of the railway line in part. The island is barely recognizable as such because of the narrow moat is visible only for walkers who are traveling on the Susosteig on the sea front of the Old Town. The Konstanz train station, and the port located at the same height are about 600 meters south of the bridge. The path leads past the city garden.
In the south of the swan pond lies between the island and the 1880 heaped Stadtpark ( city park ). The Swan Pond is also after filling the city garden grounds not open pond, but goes to the northwest into the town ditch, and has a 15 -meter-wide bottleneck in the east ( between island and city garden ) communication with the open lake. This compound dries out at low tide. The swan pond is almost 90 meters long and up to 30 meters wide, it covers an area of approximately 1800 square feet.
The northern tip of the island is located 30 meters in front of the Old Rhine Bridge, where the shipyard, the Upper Lake Constance leaves direction submarine. In the north of the main building is the chapter house. The hotel car park is located between the two buildings.
To the east of Lake Constance is open ( Constance hopper ). Here is the lakeside terrace of the hotel restaurant, as well as south of the hotel's recreation lawn. There is a pavilion on the southern tip.
In the central hotel building houses the grave of Manuel Chrysoloras, who died during the Council of Constance there.
The island belongs to the district of Konstanz old town. On December 31, 2008 21 people were registered with primary residence in the Dominican island.
History
Early History
On the south of Lake Constance and in the area of the present town of Constance the remains of Neolithic villages were at some distance from the shore found, including in the swan pond, which lies between the southern shore of the Dominican island and the 1880 city filled garden. Discovered wood fragments as well as whole pile-dwelling structures have been dated to the fifth and the third millennium BC.
More shore settlements in the Constance Bay, also stilt houses have been dated to the Neolithic period around 2200-1800 BC.
End of the 2nd century BC the Celts lived in fishing villages in the area of today's Constance and the Dominican island.
Roman History
The Roman rule in the region around Lake Constance began around the year 15 BC, with the displacement of frontiers to the Rhine under the Emperor Augustus. In the urban area there was previously a Celtic oppidum. In the 1st century Roman fort was built on the territory of Münster hill. The area south of Lake Constance belonged then to the end of the Roman Empire around the year 400 to the province of Raetia.
With the conquest of Dekumatlandes by the Alemanni in the 3rd century the frontier was transferred back to the Danube -Iller -Rhine- Limes. As part of the fortifications in Konstanz were that was since the border town for, expanded.
Early Middle Ages
For this period, little is known. According to legend, the island is a stronghold of the Merovingian have houses.
In the year 780 Charlemagne was in transit to guest on the island.
1100 sought Bishop Gebhard III. of Zahringen during the Investiture Controversy refuge here.
Dominican Monastery
According to various sources, the island was handed over to the Dominicans in 1220, and 1234 assigned by an order of the Prince-Bishop Heinrich of Constance fir as a place to build a monastery, which was finally established in the year 1236.
The chapter house 25 meters north of the monastery was built long before the founding of the monastery.
By 1300, the mystic and poet Heinrich Suso was born in Constance, who was a monk in the Dominican monastery on the island later.
At the beginning of the Council of Constance, December 6, 1414 to March 24, 1415 to Jan Hus was imprisoned in the dungeon of the monastery. This was located on the eastern Seefassade off the dining room of the Dominicans in the basement of the round tower. During the Council, the delegation of the French nation was housed in the Chapter House.
1507 Maximilian I held off during the Diet of Constance festivals in the island garden.
From 1528 to 1549 the convent was used as a temporary hospital in the city of Constance, but was then returned to the monks again.
1633, during the Thirty Years' War, attacked the Swedish fleet at the Dominican island.
In 1785, finally, the monks were by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, the thriving commercial more at heart than the mendicant monks, expelled from the island. On July 26, 1785 last Mass was read in the church on the island, and the convent during the day closed it. Other monasteries in the area were also closed.
Trade
Already on 30 June 1785 before the closure of the monastery, about Emperor Joseph II, the island of the Geneva manufacturer and banker Jacques Louis ( Jakob Ludwig) Macaire de L'Or ( 1740-1824 ), with the buildings, on payment of a small annual rent of 25 guilders, to set up a Indienne factory with indigo dyeing. In addition, he ran in the former Constance was the first banking transactions. His clients included the role Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland and mother of Emperor Napoleon III. , And Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden. Louis Jacques Macaire was one of many who had fled because of the political turmoil of Geneva. Therefore, the Dominican island was also called Geneva island or Macair'sche island.
The sons of the company founder, David Kaspar and Macaire could that purchase the island on August 29, 1813 for 6500 guilders. They operated the Father's business under the name " Macaires frères " on. With the invention of aniline dyes, but the profitability of the factory began to suffer and was liquidated after the death of Moritz Macaire (1815-1867), the grandson of the founder, of his heirs. With the death of unmarried Moritz family Macaire became extinct in the male line.
The bank was founded by Moritz Macaire 1836 the Dominican island " Macaire & Compagnie " but still existed until 1921, when it was " Süddeutsche Discontogesellschaft " of the, an offshoot of the "German Disconto Society " adopted. Macaire & Co. had already been laid at this time his seat from the Dominican island in the Constance Bahnhofstrasse 1. We also held offices in Radolfzell, Überlingen and Pfullendorf.
In a gazetteer of 1868, the "Geneva island " listed, with a population of 18. Later, official gazetteers no longer recognized by the island as a separate district.
Hotel operation
Development
The last section of the island's history, the hotel industry, was initiated by Eberhard von Zeppelin, the brother of the more famous Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Eberhard worked as a diplomat and worked upon his return to the island in the family's own Macaire bank. His mother was a born Macaire d' Amélie Hogguer.
On the one hand because of the decreasing profitability of the factory, on the other hand onset because of the railway construction (1863 port of Konstanz) summer tourism (mainly of European nobility ) and the demand in the following accommodation options, Eberhard had the idea of the factory building and former Dominican monastery to rebuild. a hotel As early as December 1874 served to present the ballroom, the former nave, as a concert hall. The so-called island - hotel was officially opened on 15 April 1875.
End of 1871 summed up the city of Constance, initiated by the then Lord Mayor Max Stromeyer, the decision, to the east of the railway line aufzuschütten large-scale land. The goal was a continuous shoreline from the harbor to the bridge over the Rhine. The land area thus obtained was provided for construction of villas for wealthy ( re-) citizens. By Landaufschüttung should also disappear and the Dominican island. However, their owners resisted this plan 1875-76 successfully in court. The Landaufschüttung then was let out of the Dominican island, thus the new shore line through the " gondola harbor " and " Swan Lake " is broken. The area newfound been planted with trees and lawns, and was soon called the "City Garden " a popular park.
In 1903, Eberhard von Zeppelin entrusted the couple Rosaly and Matthys Brunner from Glarus with the management of the hotel. The Brunner's 1907 could acquire the entire share capital of Hotel - stock company. Matthys Brunner died in March 1933, and Rosaly ran the hotel on alone until 1945 was the administrative seat of the French occupying power. This moored at a dock specially built for the only provisionally repaired three- deck ship Baden until 1948 as a floating casino.
In 1951 Rosalys daughter with her husband, a Mr. Voss, the hotel. Mr. Voss, formerly director of the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin, the island - hotel ran until 1963. For the forthcoming, urgent renovations but the owners did not have the money. Mayor Bruno Helmle operation the purchase of the island by the state of Baden -Württemberg, to secure the future of the hotel. The country bought the island in 1963 and leased it to the Steigenberger Hotel Company. The hotel was renovated three years and re-opened on June 6, 1966 as Steigenberger Insel Hotel.
1992 sold the land Baden- Württemberg the island to the Baden State Rothaus AG, which owns today.
Since a further conducted in 2007, renovated the Steigenberger Insel Hotel is considered a luxury five star hotel. The hotel has 100 rooms ( 72 double rooms and 28 single rooms ) and two suites.
Cloister
After the Stuttgart artist and art professor Carl von Haberlin received by the family of the Zeppelin order to make the medieval cloister of the monastery building with large-scale wall paintings from the history of the island and to replace the existing biblical frescoes. Häberlin worked from spring 1878 to 1894, interrupted only by the cold winter months, a total of 26 images showing in chronological order motives of the island's history from the lake dwellings of the early history up to the first hotel guests. Some of the images depict historical figures such as Charlemagne, Maximilian I and Emperor Wilhelm II during visits to Constance dar.
Former Church
The former church is used as the hotel's ballroom. The martyr frescoes are still preserved. In the vestibule, which was attached to the west wing of the cloister, an approximately 6 m long wall painting was a dance of death. The existing remains were bricked up in 1965 when conversion of the hotel behind the back wall of the lobby.
University of Konstanz
The University of Konstanz participated in its formation in 1966 at the southern side wing of the monastery building their operation. The part of the building was temporary seat of the newly founded university, which was distributed to the commissioning of the new building on the Giesberg in different homes in several districts. Even today, the hotel is regularly used for lectures and meetings of the University of Konstanz, as well as for the Konstanz Colloquium Europe.