Located on the north shore of Lake Constance, Friedrichshafen lies near the border with Switzerland and Austria in southern Germany. It was established in 1811 as part of the Kingdom of Württemberg and is considered the birthplace of the Zeppelin, with an aviation museum in Friedrichshafen and Zeppelin tours offered in the skies above.
Things to do in Friedrichshafen
Dominating the skyline of Friedrichshafen is the Palace Church, which was constructed during the late 17th century on the site of a Weingarten Benedictine monastery. Gaze up at its 55-metre-high twin towers built from Rorschach sandstone and admire the ornamental stucco in the interior while learning about the air raid that partially destroyed the building in 1944.
To learn about Friedrichshafen’s links to air travel, pay a visit to the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, which houses the world’s largest collection of Zeppelin airships and related artefacts. It occupies the Harbour Railway Station where a model of the airship LZ 129 Hindenburg is exhibited. The museum also houses an art collection featuring works by Otto Dix, Max Ackermann and Erich Heckel, who retired to the Lake Constance region.
A short stroll from the Zeppelin Museum is the Uferpromenade Friedrichshafen, a breezy walkway lined with alfresco cafes that offers stunning panoramas across Lake Constance. For a different perspective, you can climb the 22-metre-high Moleturm, a steel observation tower offering a bird’s eye view of the boats coming and going from the harbour below.
Getting around Friedrichshafen
Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen is a 10-minute drive from the city centre and has seasonal flights to destinations across Europe. Regular trains connect to Lindau, Ulm and Basel from the Friedrichshafen Stadt railway station and car ferries link to Romanshorn in Switzerland. The centre of Friedrichshafen is compact enough to explore on foot.