Radolfzell am Bodensee is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the western end of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

approximately 18 km northwest of

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

. It is the third largest town, after Constance and

Singen Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...

, in the district of Konstanz, in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. Radolfzell is a well-known health care town (Mettnau) and an important railway junction of the

High Rhine Railway The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Bad ...

and the Hegau-Ablach Valley Railway (leading to the

Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway The Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway is a non-electrified single-track railway in Baden-Württemberg that runs from Stahringen to . The 51.780 kilometre-long main-line runs mainly along the north shore of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and is p ...

). In 1990 Radolfzell was named the Federal Environment Capital City of Germany.

History

This town developed out of a monastery founded in 826 AD as a "cell" under Bishop Radolf of Verona. The town belonged to the Abbey of Reichenau, then to the house of Habsburg for a long time, and for 40 years was a Free Imperial City. In the centre is the gothic Cathedral of our Dear Lady, dating from the 15th century and decorated in the baroque style in the 18th. One particularly beautiful feature is the Rosary altar by the Zürn brothers and the Master of the House's Altar (1750) which contains the relics of the local Radolfzell saints Theopont, Senesius and Zeno. The "Hausherrenfest" is celebrated in their honour every year on the third Sunday in July, and the next day a famous Water Procession is held, as it has been every year since 1797. The citizens of the nearby village of Moos make a pilgrimage to Radolfzell in picturesquely decorated boats to fulfil an ancient oath. Also, there is the Austrian mansion in the market square, built in stages from the 17th to the 19th century, the knightly hall dating from 1626, and various historical patrician houses. Radolfzell was the birthplace of the

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

Martin Waldseemüller Martin Waldseemüller (c. 1470 – 16 March 1520) was a German cartographer and humanist scholar. Sometimes known by the Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his name, Hylacomylus, his work was influential among contemporary cartographers. He ...

's mother. MünsterRadolfzell

Mayors

(Lord Mayor since 1975)

Twin towns – sister cities

Radolfzell am Bodensee is twinned with: *

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location Istr ...

, France (1974) *

Amriswil , neighboring_municipalities= Egnach, Erlen, Hefenhofen, Muolen (SG), Salmsach, Sommeri, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf , twintowns = Amriswil ( Low Alemannic: ''Amerschwiil'') is a town and a municipality in Arbon District in the canton of Thurga ...

, Switzerland (1999)

Notable people

Marcus Teggingeri Marcus Teggingeri (1540–1600), also known as Marcus Tettinger, was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Titular Bishop of Lydda (1568–1599) and Auxiliary Bishop of Basel (1568–1599). ''(in Latin)''Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...

(1826–1886) poet and novelist, retired in Radolfzell. *

Emil Joseph Diemer Emil Joseph (Josef) Diemer (15 May 1908, in Radolfzell – 10 October 1990, in Fussbach/Gengenbach) was a German chess master. Biography Emil Joseph Diemer was born in 1908 in the German town Radolfzell, in Baden. In 1931, he was out of work a ...

(1908–1990), chess player *

Wolfgang Ruf Wolfgang Ruf (born 29 August 1941) is a German musicologist and emeritus professor. Life Born in Radolfzell, Ruf studied musicology and history at the University of Freiburg, and obtained his doctorate in 1974. Until 1985 he was a research assis ...

(born 1941), musicologist and academic *

Werner Bodendorff Werner Bodendorff (born in 1958) is a German oboist, musicologist (with a focus on Franz Schubert, Werner Egk, church music and wind music) as well as a writer. Career Bodendorff was born in Radolfzell. After the Abitur, he studied oboe and ...

(born 1958), musicologist and writer *

Josef Eichkorn Josef "Seppo" Eichkorn (born 16 September 1956) is a German former football coach and player. Coaching career Eichkorn was born in Radolfzell, Baden-Württemberg. He was manager of FC St. Pauli from 1 April 1992 to 30 June 1992 Eichkorn manag ...

(born 1956), football coach *

Jörg Baberowski Jörg Baberowski (born 24 March 1961 in Radolfzell am Bodensee) is a German historian and Professor of Eastern European History at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He studies the history of the Soviet Union and Stalinist violence. Baberowski e ...

(born 1961), historian *

Patrick Baur Patrick Baur (born 3 May 1965) is a German former professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses ...

(born 1965), tennis player *

Sabine Auer Sabine Krein-Auer (born 2 October 1966) is a German former professional tennis player. She played under her maiden name Sabine Auer. Biography Born in Radolfzell, Auer competed on the professional tour in the 1980 and 1990s, reaching a best sin ...

(born 1966), tennis player *

Pit Beirer Pit Beirer (born 19 October 1972) is a German former professional motocross racer and current Motorsports Director for the KTM motorcycle company. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1989 to 2003. Motocross racing career Born ...

(born 1972), motocross rider *

Markus Knackmuß Markus Knackmuß (born 7 June 1974 in Radolfzell, Baden-Württemberg) is a German football midfielder who last played for FC 08 Villingen. He has also played for Dynamo Dresden, FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as ...

(born 1974), footballer *

Kristof Wilke Kristof Wilke (born 17 April 1985 in Radolfzell) is a German former representative rower. He is a three time world champion and an Olympic gold medallist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he stroked the German men's eight cr ...

(born 1985), belt rower *

Anna-Lena Forster Anna-Lena Forster (born 15 June 1995) is a German para-alpine skier who competed at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics winning six medals. Early life Forster was born in Radolfzell, Konstanz Germany. She was born without a right leg a ...

(born 1995), para-alpine skier

References

Towns in Baden-Württemberg Populated places on Lake Constance 826 establishments Konstanz (district) Baden {{Konstanz-geo-stub