Reichenau Island

Reichenau is an inhabited island in the district of Konstanz in Baden- Württemberg and the largest island in Lake Constance. Since 2000 she has recorded with the monastery of Reichenau on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The island was, the UNESCO in its grounds, an outstanding example of religious and cultural role of a great Benedictine monastery in the Middle Ages.

History

The island of Reichenau was already built and settled by the Romans. Thus Strabo describes in his book 7: " In this lake ( Lake Constance ) there is an island whose Tiberius could serve as a castle on the occasion of the campaign against the Vindelicier comfortably in the fighting to ship as it were. "

Geography and Economics

The island is part of the municipality of Reichenau and the cultural and administrative center of the municipality. Administrative headquarters and since the founding period is the largest village in middle cell. The community includes not only the island of Reichenau and mainland territories.

It is located in the western part of Lake Constance, the submarine, between Konstanz and Radolfzell. About the 1838 heaped Reichenauer dam it is connected to the mainland. The highest point of the island ( Hochwart ) is at 438.7 meters and rises about 43 meters above the lake level.

The island is 4.5 km long and 1.5 km wide and has a total area of 4.3 square kilometers. The circumference is 11.0 kilometers. By area, the island is by far the largest in the entire Lake Constance and is more than six times as large as the second-ranked Lindau Island. In the late 1980s, Reichenau Lindau has overtaken as populous largest island.

The current population of the island of Reichenau is estimated to 3200-3300. The final accurate population from official statistics comes from the 1961 census, the districts from southeast to northwest. :

The three villages are scattered settlements without pronounced center. A list of the census of December 1, 1885 lists only contain the villages still 18 hamlets, houses and groups of houses, which were nonetheless assigned to the individual villages:

The ruin Schopflen is already beyond the Bruck trench on the Reichenauer dam, but is expected to top the district of Zell.

Already in subsequent gazetteer of the census of 1905, these place names no longer appear, but only the names of the three villages of Upper cell, middle cell and sub- cell. Nine of the 18 previously mentioned districts exist mostly changed slightly further than street names: Lower Rhine road, ferry horn, Häfeli Hofstraße, In the service area, Rauhofweg, Stedigasse, Bradl Lane, Upper Rhine Road, and in Genslehorn.

Due to the temperature-regulating effect of Lake Constance, the positive effects of Alpenföhns and the resulting high number of sunny days, the climate is particularly mild Reichenau. Of these, first and foremost benefit of growing vegetables with up to three outdoor crops per year. Approximately 160 acres of the island is used for agriculture, more than 25 % of the acreage is located in greenhouses. Tomatoes from the island of Reichenau, salads from the island of Reichenau, Field salads from the island of Reichenau and cucumbers from the island of Reichenau, are protected by the EU geographical indications. In addition, the tourism with over 200,000 nights and many day-trippers is next to the vegetable growing major source of income for the island.

EnBW operates in and around the castle Windegg ( locally called Bürgle ) that is in their private property, a holiday resort for employees.

Geology

The island is composed of moraine and verschwemmten gravel that have been deposited at the end of the last ice age ( Würm ). It is part of a moraine that extends from the causeway in the east to the peninsula Mettnau near Radolfzell in the West.

Traffic

The Reichenauer dam on which runs a 1,300 -meter-long avenue of poplars is passable by motor vehicles. It was in 1838 at the initiative of Napoleon III. , Who spent his youth on the opposite Swiss mountain castle arenas built. The dam is interrupted by the ten -meter wide and 95 meter long Bruck ditch which is crossed by the low Reichenauer bridge of the road L 221 Constance -Reichenau ( Pirminstraße ) and can drive through the boats. For sailboats, however, the bridge is too low. The avenue is a starting point of around 2900 km long German Avenues.

By public transport, the island is accessible by bus, in the summer half of the year also with sightseeing boats ( White Fleet ) and the passenger ferry from Allen Bach. Ships of the Swiss shipping company submarine and the Rhine and the BSB Bodensee GmbH companies operate scheduled moderately several times a day to the island.

Attractions

See main article: Municipality Reichenau ( district of Konstanz )

• Minster of St. Mary and St. Mark's, abbey church of the monastery of Reichenau
• St. Peter and Paul ( Niederzell )
• George Church (upper cell )
• Castle ruins Schopflen (upper cell, Reichenauer dam )