Thurgau Attractions

The canton of Thurgau in northeast Switzerland lies on the south side of Lake Constance, occupying most of the Swiss shoreline of the lake. It is bounded on the west by the canton of Zurich and on the east by St Gallen. It has an area of 1,006 sq. km/388 sq. mi and a population of 185,000. The canton is a region of markedly pre-Alpine character, with its highest points rising to barely 1,000 m/3,281ft. The main source of income is fruit-growing. There were many settlements in the canton in Roman times, as is shown by the results of excavation at Arbon (Arbor Felix) and Pfyn (Ad Fines). Later, the area was occupied by Alemannic tribes. In medieval times, it was held by the Zähringen and Kyburg families and, from 1264, by the Counts of Habsburg. In 1460, Thurgau was taken over by the Confederates from the excommunicated Duke Sigismund and governed as a "common province". From 1798 to 1803 it was part of the Helvetian Republic; thereafter, it became an independent canton.