Lake Constance

Where is Lake Constance?

Countries on its shores: Germany, Switzerland, Austria.

Largest lake of: Germany.

Middle of the lake: 47.58° N, 9.47° E

The story behind it

The Alpine Rhine flows into Lake Constance near Bregenz in Austria and leaves it again in the west as the High Rhine. The lake is up to 251 metres deep and holds about 48 km³ of water. It gives drinking water to many people in south-western Germany, and around 45 kinds of fish live in it. The water stores warmth, so the shores are sunny and mild, and farmers grow fruit and grapes there. Towns such as Constance, Friedrichshafen, Lindau, Bregenz and Kreuzlingen lie on the shore, and ferries carry people across. The largest islands are Reichenau, Lindau and Mainau. Most of the shore, 173 km, belongs to Germany, and Lake Constance is the biggest lake in the country. Germany, Switzerland and Austria have never agreed where exactly the borders run on the water. Only about once in a hundred years does the lake freeze over; the last time was in 1963.

Find it on the globe

Lake Constance is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.