Border between Germany and Switzerland

Political map of the Federal Republic of Germany

Political map of the Swiss Confederation

The border between Germany and Switzerland is a political border in Central Europe that is 347 km long in the Swiss view and 316 km in Germany's view . The difference is related to the unresolved border on the part of Lake Constance called Obersee . The border is a land and especially a water border (inland waters).

course

The political border between the Swiss Confederation and the Federal Republic of Germany runs roughly in a west-east direction. Germany is to the north and Switzerland to the south. In the east the border runs through Lake Constance .

The northernmost point of the German-Swiss border and at the same time the northernmost point in Switzerland is in Oberbargen (CH) / Blumberg -Epfenhofen (DE). The easternmost point is the Rheinspitz port near Altenrhein in the canton of St. Gallen . The southernmost point is Rorschach . The westernmost point is the tri-border region Basel (CH) / Weil am Rhein (DE) / Huningue (FR).

and display information about the image

Border between Switzerland and Germany

and display information about the image

Elevation diagram of the border between Switzerland and Germany (without enclave / exclave Büsingen am Hochrhein)

Border towns

→ Main article : List of border towns in Germany on the Swiss border  and list of places shared between Germany and Switzerland

Border waters

German border sign at the Rhine ferry Ellikon – Nack

Rivers

• Upper Rhine
• Wutach (about 6 km in length)
• beaver
• Landbach
• Schwarzbach
• Seegraben
• Seerhein (about 2 km in length)

Lakes

• Lake Constance (the largest part is not a limit under international law in the sense of statutory law, but only in the sense of customary law)

About 27% of the shores of Lake Constance belong to Switzerland. The shore from Konstanz to the state border with Bavaria is 86 km without the shore length of the Untersee.

See also : Territorial affiliation of Lake Constance

history

The Rhine did not always form a border. It was not until the Fricktal was incorporated into the Helvetic Republic in 1802 that today's borderline emerged. For a long time the Rhine and Lake Constance did not represent a border. Only with the conquest of Aargau in 1415 by the Old Confederation and the conquest of Thurgau in 1460 did they advance to the Rhine and Lake Constance. 1451 was the Abbey of St. Gall as facing site was included in the alliance of the Confederates. Since 1460, the Confederates controlled the southern shore of Lake Constance with the exception of the city of Konstanz and the eastern delta of the Alpine Rhine . The Swabian War solidified the situation, but the Fricktal remained in the possession of the House of Habsburg, which, together with Upper Austria, also ruled areas north of the Rhine. On July 13, 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation. The Swiss Confederation thus controlled the Rhine at an important point on both sides. On August 10, 1501, Schaffhausen joined the alliance. Here, too, the Confederation gained control over both sides of the Rhine. During the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the border between Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria was finally determined. Only the demarcation on Lake Constance remained unclear.

Law

Like Germany before, Switzerland has been part of the Schengen area since 2008 .

The course of the border has also been changed several times in recent history. Various agreements, exchange of notes, protocols and international treaties were concluded in this regard. Contracting parties were not only the Federal Republic of Germany and the Swiss Confederation, but also entities that have merged into one of these state structures. There are over 200 such acts.

Territorial particularities

Büsingen on the Upper Rhine

Location of Büsingen

→ Main article : Special regulations from Büsingen on the Upper Rhine

Büsingen am Hochrhein is the German exclave and Swiss enclave with various special regulations, for example with regard to post, currency, taxes and police. The place belongs to the district of Constance and borders the cantons of Schaffhausen , Thurgau and Zurich . A treaty between Germany and Switzerland signed in 1964 , which came into force on October 4, 1967, regulated the legal status and included the area in the Swiss customs area.

Day moss

→ Main article : Special status of the Tägermoss

The Tägermoos west of the city of Konstanz is a district of this city, but belongs under constitutional law to the area of ​​the canton of Thurgau and its municipality of Tägerwilen . The city of Konstanz exercises certain administrative tasks in Tägermoos in accordance with the Thurgau municipal law, other tasks are carried out by the authorities of the Tägerwilen municipality.

Canton of Schaffhausen

→ Main article : Territorial changes in the canton of Schaffhausen in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries

Switzerland and Germany exchanged several areas until 1967 in order to simplify the complicated borderline.

Badischer Bahnhof in Basel

→ Main article : Special features of the Badischer Bahnhof Basel as a border station

The Badischer Bahnhof in the city of Basel is operated by Deutsche Bahn ( federal railway assets ) and from a customs point of view belongs to Germany, but it is located on Swiss territory.

Iron hand

→ Main article : Iron Hand (Northwestern Switzerland)

A territory of Switzerland almost two kilometers long and around 200 meters wide protrudes into the national territory of Germany. The area, which is complicated by the borderline, has had a checkered history in the past.

International transport

Rail transport

An S-Bahn crosses the border on the Rhine bridge Waldshut – Koblenz on the Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut line

Cross-border railway lines (sorted according to their first border crossing from west to east):

• Mannheim – Basel railway line
• Wiesentalbahn ( Basel - Zell im Wiesental )
• Hochrheinbahn (Basel– Konstanz ) (crosses the border three times; the DB tariff applies to the entire railway line; partly also the Swiss tariff (e.g. in the canton of Schaffhausen ))
• Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut railway line
• Eglisau – Neuhausen railway line (crosses German territory for approx. 8 km, crosses the border twice)
• Etzwilen – Singen railway line
• Railway lines Kreuzlingen – Konstanz and Kreuzlingen Hafen – Konstanz

See also : List of Swiss rail border crossings

Cross-border tram lines:

• Line 8 of the Basel tram

Other non-cross-border railway lines on the German side in the immediate vicinity of the border (5 km zone), which have a direct feeder function to border traffic and / or were designed as strategic railways to avoid crossing the border (in alphabetical order):

Strategic paths of the German Reich to bypass Swiss territory

• Allgäu Railway (Bavaria) ( Lindau - Munich )
• Railway line Friedrichshafen city – Friedrichshafen harbor
• Railway line Ulm – Friedrichshafen
• Railway line Weil am Rhein – Lörrach (strategic railway line to bypass the Swiss area on the right bank of the Rhine around Basel)
• Stahringen – Friedrichshafen and Friedrichshafen – Lindau railway lines
• Black Forest Railway (Baden) ( Offenburg - Singen )
• Lindau – Bludenz railway line (also on Austrian territory in the five-kilometer zone around the border)
• Wehratalbahn ( Schopfheim - Bad Säckingen ) (closed; strategic railway line to bypass the Swiss area on the right bank of the Rhine around Basel)
• Wutachtalbahn ( Lauchringen - Hintschingen ) (strategic railway line, designed to bypass the canton of Schaffhausen)

Other non-cross-border railway lines on the Swiss side in the immediate vicinity of the border (five-kilometer zone) that have a direct feeder function to border traffic (in alphabetical order):

• Chur – Rorschach railway line
• Rorschach – St. Gallen
• Stein-Säckingen – Koblenz railway line
• Strasbourg – Basel railway line (also on French territory in a five-kilometer zone around the border)
• Winterthur – Etzwilen railway line
• Winterthur – Koblenz railway line
• Thurtle Line
• Basel connecting railway ( Basel Badischer Bahnhof - Basel SBB train station )
• Rheineck – Walzenhausen mountain railway
• Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway ( Romanshorn - Wattwil )
• Bözberg route ( Basel - Baden )
• Hauenstein route ( Basel - Olten )
• Jurabahn ( Basel - Biel / Bienne )
• Mittelthurgau Railway ( Kreuzlingen - Wil )
• Rhine Falls Railway ( Schaffhausen - Winterthur )
• Rorschach-Heiden mountain railway
• Lake line ( Schaffhausen - Rorschach )

Long-distance transport

Several Intercity Express (ICE) lines, Eurocity (EC) lines, Intercity (IC) lines, ÖBB Nightjet lines and also a Swiss InterRegio line are operated between Germany and Switzerland :

Line (DB)	Line (SBB)	Lines	Railway line at the border crossing
ICE 12		( Interlaken Ost -) Basel SBB - Braunschweig - Berlin	Upper Rhine Railway
ICE 20		( Chur -) Zurich HB - Basel SBB - Frankfurt - Hamburg-Altona / Kiel	Upper Rhine Railway
ICE 43		Basel SBB - Frankfurt Airport - Dortmund (- Hanover )	Upper Rhine Railway
ICE 78		Basel SBB - Frankfurt Airport - Cologne - Amsterdam	Upper Rhine Railway
ICE 85 / ECE		Frankfurt - Basel SBB - (→ Arth-Goldau - Bellinzona / ← Bern - Brig ) - Milano Centrale	Upper Rhine Railway
IC / EC 16		Berlin - Braunschweig / Hanover - Frankfurt - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - | - Basel	Upper Rhine Railway
IC / EC 30		Interlaken Ost / Zurich HB - Basel SBB - Frankfurt am Main - Cologne - Hamburg-Altona	Upper Rhine Railway
IC 60		Munich - Stuttgart - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - | - Basel	Upper Rhine Railway
IC 87	4th	Zurich HB - Schaffhausen - Singen (Htw) (- Stuttgart )	Hochrheinbahn
NJ 401/471		Zurich HB - Frankfurt South - Göttingen - Berlin / Hamburg	Upper Rhine Railway
	75	Lucerne - Zurich HB - Constance	Railway lines Kreuzlingen – Konstanz and Kreuzlingen Hafen – Konstanz

The Eurocity line 88 from Munich to Zurich or Basel is another long-distance line from Germany to Switzerland. However, since it is conducted via Bregenz in Austria and thus does not cross the German-Swiss border, it is not listed here.

Regional traffic

Several connections are offered in cross-border regional rail traffic:

Train type	Lines	Railway line at the border crossing
IRISHMAN	Basel - | - Waldshut - | - Schaffhausen - | - Singing (Hohentwiel) (- Ulm / Lindau )	Hochrheinbahn
RE / RB	Basel - | - Freiburg - Offenburg (- Karlsruhe )	Upper Rhine Railway
	Kreuzlingen - | - Constance - | - St. Gallen - Wil	Railway lines Kreuzlingen – Konstanz and Kreuzlingen Hafen – Konstanz
RB	Basel - | - Waldshut (- Leek rings )	Hochrheinbahn
RB	Schaffhausen - | - sing	Hochrheinbahn
RB	Schaffhausen - | - Erzingen	Hochrheinbahn

S-Bahn traffic

Lines from five Swiss S-Bahn networks serve German territory. With the exception of the S 5 line of the Basel S-Bahn (completely on German territory), these are cross-border S-Bahn lines. All Swiss S-Bahn lines that cross the border into Germany are listed below:

Swiss S-Bahn in Kreuzlingen station on the way to Konstanz, Germany

S-Bahn network	line	Lines	Railway line at the border crossing
Basel S-Bahn	S 6	Basel - | - Zell im Wiesental	Wiesentalbahn
Aargau S-Bahn	P 27	Bathing - | - Waldshut	Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut railway line
Schaffhausen S-Bahn	without no.	Schaffhausen - | - Erzingen	Hochrheinbahn
S-Bahn St. Gallen	S 14	Weinfelden - | - Constancy	Kreuzlingen – Constance
Zurich S-Bahn	S 9	Zurich - | - Jestetten - | - Schaffhausen	Eglisau – Neuhausen railway line
	P. 22	Jestetten - | - Schaffhausen - | - sing	Eglisau – Neuhausen railway line , Hochrheinbahn
	P 41	Winterthur - | - Waldshut	Turgi – Koblenz – Waldshut railway line

Tram traffic

On December 14, 2014, the cross-border tram line 8 of the Swiss tram in Basel started operating. It runs from Basler Neuweilerstrasse via Basel SBB train station and the Basel district of Kleinhüningen to Weil am Rhein in Germany.

See also : Line 8 of the Basel tram

Road traffic

Border crossing Emmishofer Tor between Konstanz and Kreuzlingen (end of Schweizer Hauptstrasse 1 )

→ Main article : List of road border crossings between Germany and Switzerland

Road traffic between Germany and Switzerland is currently handled at 67 border crossings (as of July 2017).

Most of the supra-regional border and transit traffic between Germany and Switzerland runs on several German and Swiss motorways and motorways . There are five border crossings to which at least one of the two countries has a motorway or a car road. Regional and, in some cases, local border traffic also take place here, with less importance.

The regional border traffic takes place to a large extent on German federal highways and Swiss main roads . As a rule, these roads are toll-free. Supraregional border and transit traffic as well as local border traffic also take place on these roads. There are twelve border crossings that are of particular importance for regional traffic. These are usually characterized by the fact that a federal road or an important main road leads to them from at least one of the two countries (usually main roads with one or two-digit numbering), but no motorway or car road.

The local border traffic occurs mostly in 50 smaller and often unoccupied border crossings, which on the German side of state roads , county roads or local roads , on the Swiss side to side roads , secondary roads or local roads are. Subordinate regional and, very occasionally, national border traffic also take place on these roads.

Customs stop

Traffic sign 2.51 customs stop

The traffic sign 2.51 customs stop obliges road users to a maximum speed of 20 km / h - even if no other explicit speed limit is recognizable:

The "Customs stop" signal (2.51) obliges the guide to stop at the customs office. If the customs authorities temporarily waive the customs control, the office may be driven at a maximum of 20 km / h.

For example, if you pass a border crossing here in town at 50 instead of 20 km / h, you are threatened with buses from CHF 800 and a three-month driving ban. The busses list called under section 303 for exceeding the speed limit by 11-15 km / h in town a fine of 250 CHF. Significantly higher fines can be prescribed for higher excesses.

Bus transport

Of the Basel traffic operations and Südbadenbus operated bus lines:

• 38 Wylen  - Grenzach  - Riehen Hörnli border  - Basel Wettsteinplatz  - Basel Claraplatz  - Basel Schifflände  - Basel Bachgraben (continue as line 48 ) - Allschwil Gartenstrasse  - Basel Wanderstrasse  - Basel SBB
  

From the SWEG operated bus line:

• 55 Basel Claraplatz  - Basel Badischer Bahnhof - Weil am Rhein  - Haltingen  - Binzen  - Rümmingen  - Schallbach  - Wittlingen  - Wollbach  - Hammerstein  - Kandern

Bus routes operated by Südbadenbus :

• 7300 Schopfheim - Maulburg - Steinen - Lörrach - Basel Badischer Bahnhof (only one trip towards Basel)
• 7301 Rheinfelden - Wylen - Grenzach - Basel Badischer Bahnhof / - Riehen - Lörrach
• 7312 Rheinfelden city bus: Rheinfelden district hospital - Rheinfelden bus station - Rheinfelden train station - Rheinfelden regional hospital / - Rheinfelden HPS
• 7349 Singen - Stein am Rhein
• 7351 Büsingen am Hochrhein - Gailingen - Diessenhofen
• 7368 Radolfzell - Gaienhofen - Stein am Rhein

From the VBSH operated bus lines:

• 8 Schaffhausen - In the open , Schaffhausen (also drives over the area of ​​Büsingen am Hochrhein )
• 25 Schaffhausen - Büsingen am Hochrhein - Dörflingen - Randegg - Gottmadingen-Murbach - Buch SH - Ramsen SH

From the PostBus Switzerland Ltd operated bus lines:

• 908 Konstanz - Kreuzlingen - Landschlacht (field no. 80.908)
• 925 evening bus: Konstanz - Kreuzlingen - Landschlacht - Kreuzlingen - Konstanz (field no. 80.925)

Historical numbers

In 1961 around 19 million vehicles passed the border customs offices in Baden-Württemberg. 3.3 million vehicles each were recorded in Konstanz and Weil am Rhein, 1.9 million vehicles passed the customs border in Lörrach.

Airports

German Airport Friedrichshafen . Lake Constance and Switzerland in the background

Airports and airfields near the border (50 km zone) with regular international flight operations:

• Germany
  • Friedrichshafen Airport
• Switzerland
  • airport Zurich
  • St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport
• France
  • Basel-Mulhouse Airport

shipping

Shipping routes on Lake Constance

→ Main articles : White Fleet (Bodensee)  and list of Rhine ferries

There are several international ferry connections between Germany and Switzerland. These are mainly located on Lake Constance , but also on the Upper Rhine . Mostly passenger ferries operate between the two countries. The only exception is the Friedrichshafen – Romanshorn ferry line , on which cars and trucks are also transported. Until 1976, the Bodensee Trajekten also transported rail freight cars between the two countries.

Border control

police

The border control is incumbent

• in Germany the
  • Federal Police and the
  • Baden-Württemberg police (e.g. as part of the veil manhunt ). EasyPASS (formerly automated biometric-based border control) is possible in many places .
• in Switzerland the border guard corps

Border Guard Region I - Basel (Cantons BS, BL, SO, AG, BE, LU, OW, NW)

Border guard region II - Schaffhausen (cantons ZH, SH, TG, SZ, UR, ZG)

Customs authorities

The following is responsible for customs control:

• in Germany
  • Federal Customs Administration
• in Switzerland
  • Border Guard Corps

Significant bridges

In the foreground Rhine bridge Koblenz – Waldshut . Behind the Rhine bridge Waldshut – Koblenz

(from west to east)

• Rheinfelder Bridge , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Rheinfelden AG / Rheinfelden (Baden))
• Old Rhine Bridge Rheinfelden , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Rheinfelden AG / Rheinfelden (Baden))
• Fridolin Bridge , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Stein AG / Bad Säckingen)
• Wooden bridge Bad Säckingen , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Stein AG / Bad Säckingen)
• Laufen Bridge , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Laufenburg AG / Laufenburg (Baden)) - closed to private motorized traffic
• High Rhine Bridge , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Laufenburg AG / Laufenburg (Baden))
• Rhine bridge Koblenz – Waldshut , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Koblenz AG / Waldshut-Tiengen), B34 / E54
• Rhine bridge Waldshut – Koblenz , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Koblenz AG / Waldshut-Tiengen), railway
• Rheinbrücke Zurzach – Rheinheim , Canton Aargau / Baden-Württemberg (Bad Zurzach / Küssaberg)
• Rhine bridge Rheinau-Altenburg , Canton of Zurich / Baden-Württemberg ( Rheinau ZH / Jestetten )
• Rhine bridge Diessenhofen – Gailingen , Canton Thurgau / Baden-Württemberg

See also

• Border fortifications in Switzerland
• Hochrhein-Bodensee region
• Trinational Eurodistrict Basel
• German-French-Swiss Upper Rhine Conference (ORK)

literature

• Arnulf Moser: The fence in your head: On the history of the German-Swiss border around Constance. 1992, ISBN 3-89669-827-3 .
• Daniel-Erasmus Khan : The German State Borders: Legal-Historical Basics and Open Legal Issues Chap. I: The German-Swiss border, pp. 104–163. Mohr Siebeck , 2004. ISBN 978-3-16-148403-2 (online)

Web links

Commons : Border between Germany and Switzerland  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ swisstopo.admin.ch
2. ↑ destatis.de
3. ↑ State Office for Surveying and Geoinformation Bavaria
4. ↑ The neighboring states. on: euregio-bodensee.ch
5. ↑ lpb-bw.de
6. ↑ admin.ch
7. ↑ Swiss Signaling Ordinance (SSV) of September 5, 1979
8. ↑ https://axa.ch/de/privatkunden/blog/unterwegs/sicherheit-auf-der-strasse/busse-verkehr.html You have to reckon with these buses - information from AXA Insurance.
9. ↑ https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19960142/index.html#app1ahref1 Swiss Ordinance on Fines (OBV) of March 4, 1996
10. ↑ Home chronicle . In: Hegau - magazine for history, folklore and natural history of the area between the Rhine, Danube and Lake Constance . Self-published by the Hegau history association Singen e. V., Issue 1 (13) 1962, p. 141.
11. ↑ Partially automated border control (EasyPASS). on: bundespolizei.de
12. ↑ www.zoll.de ( Memento of the original dated November 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: ezv.admin.ch