Meersburg entdecken

Meersburg Castle, also called the Alte Burg, overlooks Lake Constance from a rocky outcrop, among Germany's oldest inhabited castles. Its keep may date to the 7th or 12th century; the fortress later served the Bishops of Constance. Poet Annette von Droste-Hulshoff lived here from 1841 until her death in 1848; the private castle now holds a museum for self-guided visits.

The New Palace in Meersburg was built from 1710 as residence of the Prince-Bishops of Constance, replacing the cramped medieval castle next door. Bishop Johann Franz von Stauffenberg began the work; his successors brought in architects tied to Balthasar Neumann to add a grand staircase, pink Baroque facades and a chapel. It served the bishopric until 1803.

SEA LIFE Konstanz is an aquarium on the Lake Constance waterfront, part of the SEA LIFE chain that began in Oban, Scotland in 1979 and is now run by Merlin Entertainments. It houses seahorses, sharks and rays in themed tanks linked by an underwater tunnel, and shares its building with the city's Bodensee-Naturmuseum.