The Bodensee borders on Deutschland, die Schweiz, and Österreich. On some English maps, it’s also known as ‘Lake Constance.’
On the north side of the lake, there’s Deutschland. At the east end of the lake is Österreich. Along the south is die Schweiz.
Several major towns are located on the shores of the Bodensee: On the German side, there are Überlingen, Meersburg, Lindau, Konstanz, and Friedrichshafen. On the Austrian side, there’s Bregenz. On the Swiss side, there are smaller towns like Romanshorn and Kreuzlingen.
Many famous people have lived here over the centuries. The famous inventor, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, lived and worked in Konstanz from 1838 to 1917. He is also known as Graf, meaning ‘count.’ Graf Zeppelin developed the famous type of lighter-than-air ship.
The famous author Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was born in northern Germany in 1797 and spent part of her life there. But she moved to Meersburg later in life and remained there until her death in 1848. Mountains in the area inspired some of her poems.
The lake is good for segeln, schwimmen, and windsurfen. There are three main islands in the lake: Mainau, Lindau, and Reichenau.
Mainau is also known as the Blumeninsel, and the entire island is essentially one big park, with lots of flowers and other plants.
The three islands, as well as the cities around the shores of the lake, have the usual Burgen and Schlösser and other historic buildings which tourists love to see.
