Shipwrecks in Lake Constance

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A number of wrecks of watercraft that cannot be precisely determined are or were in Lake Constance . The list of shipwrecks is limited to merchant ships ( passenger ships , cargo ships and work ships ; no leisure boats ) and warships . It is irrelevant whether the wreck is still in Lake Constance, whether it has been lifted and renovated or demolished in the meantime, or whether it is an exhibit in a museum . The place of the downfall should be known, if possible also the cause and whereabouts.

The medieval wreck found in front of Immenstaad can be viewed in the State Archaeological Museum in Konstanz.

history

In terms of area, Lake Constance is the third largest lake in Central Europe with the largest fleet of passenger ships - it is also "the largest ship cemetery in Europe". The underwater archaeologists of the State Office for Monument Preservation in Gaienhofen ( Konstanz district ) record around 300 wrecks in Baden-Württemberg alone , of which up to 50 have been identified. The causes for the sinking of the ships were varied: shipwreck in storms, fire, explosion, grounding, stranding, collision, overloading, the effects of war or deliberate self- sinking . Again and again human lives were to be lamented. A shipwreck off Lindau in 1422 claimed 52 victims.

Although scientists assume that the hunters and gatherers of the Mesolithic on Lake Constance from 9000 BC Chr. Dugouts also used as the inhabitants of the numerous pile-dwellings of the Neolithic period from 4000 BC. As in other lakes in the foothills of the Alps , evidence of wreckage has not yet been found. Even the naval battle on Lake Constance described in classical Roman literature in 15 BC. BC has so far not led to any wreckage of the Roman fleet. The constructional features of the cargo sailors that used to be typical of Lake Constance indicate Gallo-Roman origins. And the naval war on Lake Constance from 1632 to 1648 has so far remained without a trace, although in 1634 the Swedish fleet had to be sunk. It was not until 1902 that ship finds in the lake were reported, but they could not be clearly identified and quickly disintegrated in the air. The discovery of a ship off Immenstaad in 1981 made a salvage possible for the first time and to date, with successful, elaborate conservation and the exhibition of the 18-meter-long hull in the Archaeological State Museum in Konstanz. However, this approach will remain the exception. Whenever possible, the ship finds are systematically registered and mapped, although the place where they were found is not published to protect against souvenir hunters. To protect the wet wooden parts from erosion and damage, some of them are also reburied in safe places under water after they have been recorded.

There are many reports and illustrations of the Lädinen and the smaller Segnern , who in large numbers sailed Lake Constance from the 14th to the beginning of the 20th century, but no more originals - not even original plans that would enable an authentic Lädine to be recreated . This does not apply to the steamships : of the 75 units since 1824, at least one of the paddle steamer Hohentwiel is still in operation in almost original condition. By examining a few well-known wrecks, scientists hope to learn more about shipbuilding on Lake Constance over the past 600 years.

Shipwrecks

Medieval sailing ships

“The medieval ships had slim, box-shaped hulls with a flat bottom, a protruding bow and a broad stern. They were equipped with a square sail and several oars for driving and steering. "

  • The Gallo-Roman ship from Immenstaad (W 204)
    It was discovered, reported, observed and measured in 1981 by two students in the shallow water area in front of the Kippenhorn . When the wreck was threatened with serious damage, the Baden-Württemberg State Monuments Office decided in 1990 to salvage the 18 meter long and 3.5 meter wide hull, which was then preserved for years in a trough with sugar solution. Dendrochronologically , the origin of the ship was dated between 1325 and 1350. It is the oldest ship from Lake Constance and can be viewed in the State Archaeological Museum in Konstanz.
  • The Reichenauer fishing boat
    the monastery Reichenau operating in the Middle Ages a busy ship traffic, for example, the monastery of St. Gallen . The approximately 9 meter long wreck off Niederzell has been known since 2006 , and its construction and age correspond to that in Immenstaad. It bears a resemblance to old submarine fishing boats . There is another wreck in front of Oberzell .
  • Ship find near Sipplingen (W 202)
    The wreck (9.4 × 1.8 meters), discovered in 1984 and found again in 2000, is striking because of the side wall protruding steeply from the ground, which would indicate a late medieval ship, similar to the find off Immenstaad. However, there are also differences.

Modern sailing ships

The St. Jodok is a replica of a blessing

Compared with the medieval sailing ships of Celtic-Roman origin, the cargo sailors of modern times had a wider and more bulbous, kraweel-clad hull with a narrower stern and bucket bow. They were called Lädinen and were up to 32 meters long and 8 meters wide. The mast was about 24 meters high. They could carry up to a hundred tons of cargo. Smaller variants were called half-daisies and (half-) blessers. The ships, which had their heyday at the beginning of the 16th century, were mostly abandoned after a useful life of ten years.

  • The "salt ship" in front of Unteruhldingen (W 203)
    It dates from the end of the 16th century and is around 30 meters long and 6 meters wide. Because of the different hull construction, the scientists expect new information on post-medieval shipbuilding.
  • The "clay ship" near Ludwigshafen (W 205)
    The Segner (13.7 × 3.8 meters) is known to recreational divers, which led to the wreck being looted down to the hull. The Museum Unterwasser project aims to provide information about the problem at a depth of 20 meters.

  • Bow of the Segmer in front of Bodman-Ludwigshafen

  • Stern, port side with remains of the rudder

  • The "coal ship" (W 206) and the "third wreck" (W 207)
    The Segner (15.3 × 5 meters) is located at an unpublished site and is therefore very well preserved. Due to the superstructure and the cargo (including broken coal), the ship is assigned to the 19th century. The third wreck is still largely unexplored. It seems to be older than the other two, but is - because of a shipwreck on the steep bank? - in very poor condition.
  • Classic ground load sailing ship of the 18th – 20th centuries Century before Güttingen .
    A blessing in the area of ​​an old port facility ("Stelli"). Dendrodating at the end of the 19th century.

Steamships

  • The sinking of the Ludwig was a shipwreck with 13 deaths on Lake Constance.
    Ludwig
    The smooth-deck steamer sank after a collision with the city ​​of Zurich on March 11, 1861 on a stormy night off the mouth of the Old Rhine with 13 passengers on board. In 1863 the ship was lifted and was named Rorschach . It sank again after 1870 before Bregenz , was raised again and demolished.
  • Jura
    The ship was procured in 1861 as the successor to the sunken Ludwig and was also rammed on February 12, 1864 by the city ​​of Zurich , the "devil's ship". It sank with three people in front of Bottighofen . There the wreck was located in 1964 at a depth of 45 meters. Diving tourism and the dumping of excavated material from the port of Kreuzlingen damaged the shipwreck, which is why it was listed as a historical monument in 2004. Again and again it is intended to raise the Jura . It would then be the oldest steamship.
  • Rhine Falls
    The smooth-deck steamer based in Schaffhausen sank on December 20, 1869 off Berlingen TG after a boiler explosion that killed five people. It was lifted, repaired and renamed Neptune .
  • The prow of the Habsburg dug up to the center of the ship in the city ​​of Lindau .
    City of Lindau
    On October 8, 1887, the smooth deck steamer was rammed by the Austrian     Habsburgs in front of the Lindau harbor entrance . He sank with three people on board. The following year the wreck was lifted and scrapped.
  • King Karl
    Hardly put into service, the half saloon steamship collided with a raft on October 26, 1890 and burned downtogether with the shipyardduring the subsequent repairs in Friedrichshafen . The wreck had to be completely rebuilt.
  • City of Radolfzell
    The small screw steamer sank off the Mettnau peninsula on August 19, 1919because it had loaded too many potatoes. It was lifted again and repaired.
  • Baden
    The former Kaiser Wilhelm was the first saloon steamship and long the pride of the Lake Constance fleet before it was retired in 1929. After the superstructure was broken off, the hull wassunk in1931 in the Obersee in an unknown location.
  • Helvetia and Saentis
    The two Swiss half     saloon steamers were retired in 1932 and 1933. Because of the low scrap prices, scrapping was not worthwhile. The Helvetia was "gutted" and sunk without fuss on October 27, 1932 at the deepest point of Lake Constance, the "Tiefen Schweb". The Saentis followed on May 2, 1933 in the same place, but completely left and flagged before the eyes of the audience on the Rhine , whose signal whistle blew a salute.
  • Friedrichshafen
    The Hohentwiel's sister shipburned out on the shipyard slipway during the bombing of Friedrichshafen's old town on the night of April     27-28 , 1944. The annealed hull was poured with concrete two years later andsunkin "floating" in front of the mouth of the Argen .
  • Württemberg
    The half saloon steamship sank in the same bomb attack in the front port basin of Friedrichshafen by a nearby detonator. After the wreck was lifted, it was finally destroyed on July 20, 1944 on the slipway of the shipyard by a bomb hit.

Motor ships

  • City of Radolfzell
    The firstmotorboat builtfor the Deutsche Reichsbahn did not meet their requirements. It should therefore beconverted into an auxiliary boatby the Bodan shipyard . But it was cheaper for the shipyard to build a new ship anddispose ofthe old one in 1934 in the Obersee in front of the mouth of the     Argen .
  • Höri
    Three ships stationed in Konstanz were anchored near Ludwigshafen to protect them from air raids, but were discovered there by low-flying aircraft and shot at on July 24, 1944. The Höri was so badly damaged that it sank in the harbor basin. It was later raised and renewed after the war.

Work ships

  • Former Trajektkahn II , Mud Ship 3 and Steam Sludge Dredger In
    addition to the two steam ships ( see above ), a work ship (the former     Trajektkahn II ), Mud Ship 3 and the steam sludge dredger were hit by bombs and sunk in the harbor basin during the bombing of Friedrichshafen on April 28, 1944 . The wrecks were lifted, the first scrapped, the other two renovated.

literature

  • Dietmar Bönke: paddle wheel and impeller. The shipping of the railway on Lake Constance . GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86245-714-4
  • Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer, Karl F. Fritz: The history of the great Lake Constance ships. Bodensee Magazin Verlag, Konstanz undated , ISBN 3-935169-00-0
  • Karl F. Fritz: Adventure steamboat trip on Lake Constance . MultiMediaVerlag, Meersburg 1989, ISBN 3-927484-00-8
  • Dietrich Hakelberg: A 14th-century vessel from Immenstaad (Lake Constance, southern Germany) . In: International Journal of Nautical Archeology, Volume 25, Issue 3-4, pages 224-233, August 1996. doi : 10.1111 / j.1095-9270.1996.tb00772.x

Web links

References and comments

  1. ^ Secrets of the Werbellinsee , documentation on rbb on April 30, 2012, quoted from Werbellinsee
  2. ↑ Reutlinger General-Anzeiger of October 12, 2012: Sunken ships lie on the bottom of Lake Constance
  3. ^ Martin Mainberger, Adalbert Müller, Helmut Schlichtherle in Freiburger ONLINE publications: Shipwrecks in Lake Constance
  4. ↑ Dietrich Hakelberg, Martin Mainberger: '' Archeology of a waterway ''. In: The lake tells. Underwater archeology & lake research. A traveling exhibition as part of Interreg IV.
  5. ^ Judith Oexle, Helmut Schlichtherle: Salvage of a medieval barge from Lake Constance . In: Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg 2, 1992, pages 37-43.
  6. ↑ Dietrich Hakelberg, Martin Mainberger: '' Archeology of a waterway ''. In: The lake tells. Underwater archeology & lake research. A traveling exhibition as part of Interreg IV.
  7. ↑ Martin Mainberger: diving prospecting on shipwrecks in Überlinger See and Steißlinger See. In: NAU 8 of October 18, 2001, pages 89-92. News bulletin working group underwater archeology, published by the commission for underwater archeology in the association of state archaeologists in the Federal Republic of Germany.
  8. ↑ Johann Leidenfrost: '' The cargo sailors of Lake Constance ''. Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1975.
  9. ^ Martin Mainberger, Adalbert Müller, Helmut Schlichtherle in Freiburger ONLINE publications: Shipwrecks in Lake Constance .
  10. ↑ Note with images by Thomas Reitmaier (PDF) pages 26-28  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lake-it.ch  
  11. ↑ Dietmar Bönke: paddle wheel and impeller. The shipping of the railway on Lake Constance . GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86245-714-4 , p. 222.
  12. ↑ Shipwreck discovered in the lake.
  13. ↑ As part of the depth of field project to remeasure the bottom of the Lake Constance, the hull of the Helvetia and the wreck of the Säntis were discovered in the deep float off Romanshorn in autumn 2013 . A total of 40 to 50 wrecks were discovered during this project.
  14. ↑ Article by Karl F. Fritz: 70 years ago: The end of the steamship "Friedrichshafen"
  15. ↑ Michael Berg: Motor shipping on Lake Constance under the Deutsche Reichsbahn and in the post-war period . Verlag regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher et al. 2011, ISBN 978-3-89735-614-6 , page 194 ff