Constance

Effectively a localized broadening of the River Rhine, which separates Germany from Switzerland, Lake Constance is a popular tourist centre. Its major resort, the historic town of Constance (Konstanz), is to some extent an enclave of Germany surrounded by Switzerland, and lies on the southwestern shore of the lake.

Town in Baden-Württemberg, south Germany, on the section of the River Rhine joining Lake Constance and Lake Untersee, 160 km/100 mi south of Stuttgart; population (2001 est) 77,900. Suburbs stretch across the frontier into Switzerland. Constance has traditional industries such as mechanical engineering, clothing manufacture, and printing, and it has also attracted modern pharmaceutical and computer industries. There is a modern university, and the town is a tourist centre and health spa. It is also a port on Lake Constance.

Constance was originally a Celtic, and later a Roman, settlement. In 1183 Frederick I made peace here with the Lombard league (the house in which the peace was signed still exists), and in 1192 it was made a free city of the empire. In 1805 it became part of the state of Baden.

There is a fine Romanesque cathedral, begun in 1052, and a Renaissance Rathaus (town hall). Parts of the original city walls remain in the historic Neiderburg quarter. In the Middle Ages the city was famous for its linen industry.