Historic half-timbered town by the lake

Meersburg's (5,500 inhabitants, 420 m above sea level, 1,328 beds) beginnings are obscure. But the special
geographical location - on Lake Constance, between Oberlinger and Überlinger See, with a view of Staad and
thus the episcopal city of Konstanz - led to the assumption that a settlement had existed here early on. This
“romantic” view is reinforced by the mighty walls of the Old Castle, which rises high above the lake on a
molasse rock.
The city experienced its heyday in the 18th century; It was then that Meersburg's baroque silhouette was
created, the beauty of which still shines today. With secularization, Meersburg fell to what later became the
Grand Duchy of Baden in 1802/03: the prince-bishop's residence became a Baden country town. The “new spirit”
was also followed here and some gates and towers of the old city fortifications were demolished in the first half
of the 19th century.
Baron Joseph von Laßberg, who was enthusiastic about the German Middle Ages, acquired the old castle in
1838 and saved it from demolition. Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797-1848), one of the most important
German poets, spent her last years in Meersburg and created a small refuge for herself in the vineyards
above the old town. In 1954, Meersburg's old town as a whole was placed under monument protection.
The chain of half-timbered houses on Meersburger Steigstrasse, which leads across the market square to
the Obertorturm, is particularly impressive in terms of arrangement and construction.


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