Meersburg Attractions

In the upper town in Meersburg stands the oldest inhabited castle in Germany, the Altes Schloss or Meersburg, which has a history going back to the seventh century. Its four round towers date from 1508. From 1526 until the completion of the Neues Schloss in 1750 it was the residence of the Bishops of Konstanz. In 1838 it became the property of Freiherr Joseph von Lassberg, brother-in-law of the poetess Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, who lived here from 1841 until her death in 1848. The Schloss has fine state apartments, a collection of weapons, and the Droste Room.

Northwest of the Marktplatz in Meersburg, near the Town Church, is a former Dominican convent (15th C.; remodeled in Baroque style), now occupied by the Bible Gallery, the Municipal Library and the Municipal Museum.

East of the Obertor in Meersburg, beyond the busy Stettener Strasse, is the Fürstenhäusle or Fuggerhäusle, which was acquired by Annette von Droste-Hülshoff in 1843 (Droste Museum).

The lower town in Meersburg, on the shores of the lake, is traversed by Unterstadtstrasse and the Seepromenade, which runs parallel to it along the lake.

At the east end of the Seepromenade is the Gredhaus, an old granary of 1505 (ticket office for the Federal Railroads ships on Lake Constance).

To the north of the Schlossplatz in Meersburg lies the Marktplatz, with handsome half-timbered buildings and the Obertor (Upper Gate; 1300-30).

To the east of the Altes Schloss in Meersburg, in Schlossplatz, is the Neues Schloss, built by Balthasar Neumann in 1741-50 as the new residence of the Bishops of Konstanz (Dornier Museum; Municipal Art Collections; Mesmer Memorial Room, commemorating the inventor of mesmerism).

It contains a sumptuous staircase hall, ceiling paintings by Joseph Ignaz Appiami, and stucco decoration by Carlo Pozzi. The chapel, two stories in height, was decorated by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayr and Gottfried Bernhard Goez.

The most attractive link between the upper and lower towns in Meersburg is Steigstrasse, lined with handsome half-timbered houses.

6km/4mi northwest of Meersburg, off the main road, is the holiday resort of Unteruhldingen, with a boating harbor and an interesting Reptile House.