Visit One Lake in 3 Countries, Lake Constance, in Switzerland, Germany & Austria

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Meersberg lower town on the side of Lake Constance. Photo from Wikipedia.

The landmark bear fountain on the hilltop upper town of Meersberg in Germany. Photo from Angela Lansbury.

From Meersburg in Germany you can take a ferry to Konstanz which is on the border with Switzerland.

Meersburg, Obersee. Ober as in over or upper. See as in sea or water. 

You will find lots to admire and learn in this area.

Meersburg

The bear is holding the town coat of arms.

Meersburg. 

Meer means lake or pool. Alternatively, castle o the sea. Burg is castle or manor. 

Meersburg is a medieval town attracting many tourists. The statue of the bear holds the town's coat of arms, which appears on stationery and official documents.

Meersburg has an upper and lower town with a steep pedestrian street and two sets of stairs. From the top there is a view from the castle. You must pay to go into the castle, but it's free to go to the cafe and you glimpse a bit of the castle en route.

Actually there are two castles. 

The Old Castle, Meersburg

The old castle reaches to the sky, overlooking the lake. The old castle has a statue outside of Writer Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. She wrote poetry and composed music. She is best known for her novella, The Jew's Beech, based on the true story of how a Jewish man was murdered and years later the murderer returned and hanged himself in the woods. 

Statue of Annette outside the castle.

Annette's book, The Jew's Beech.

The New Castle Meersburg

The second one is a grand pink block, with a wide oblong frontage. New in its day, the 1700s. Contains a hall of mirrors.

Look for the area's multi-site ticket..

Mesmer

A small oddity is the grave of Mesmer, from who we get the verb to mesmerise, meaning to hypnotise, as well as the term animal magnetism. And his experiments and the tests on his veracity, led to the discovery of the placebo effect.

Statues of Mesmer. Photos from Wikipedia.Polkadot tablecloth 

Baden

Baden is bath. Baden-Wuerttemberg. 

The origin of the name Wuerttemberg is possibly a man's hill. 

Lake Constance

Constance is also spelled Konstanz. From the city of Konstanz.

Lake Constance is Europe's third largest lake. Big with borders. One lake divided between three countries. Switzerland (eastern). Germany. Austria. A short drive from France.

The name of the lake comes from the city of Konstanz, named after the meeting which took place here. The city was named after a Roman emperor. We are famiiar with the name Constantine, associated with the first Christian Roman emperor. But his father has a similar name, Constantius.

BODEN SEE

Boden see, lake with a lake bed. 

Bodensee is not a place on Lake Constance, It's the German name for Lake Constance. See, think of sea.  

Also in the region, the grave of Mesmer, who inspired the word to mesmerise.

Where next?

Ferry ride.

Waterside grand building with museum about poet Annette.

Useful Websites

https://www.bodensee.eu/en/where-to-travel/lake-constance-cities/konstanz

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Meersburg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Constance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantius_Chlorus

https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2014/06/poetry-pentecost-by-annette-von-droste.html

Birthplace of Annette with museum about her

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_von_Droste-H%C3%BClshoff#/media/File:Burg_H%C3%BClshoff.jpg

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