Reichenau Island

A visit to Reichenau Island is a treat for the senses: the tangy, spicy scent of countless herbs wafts through the air, your taste buds are spoiled with delicacies made from fresh vegetables and fish, your eyes feast on panoramic views of the lake and mountains, and your ears can relax in peaceful silence.

Vegetable island on Lake Constance

The largest of the Lake Constance islands, covering an area of 430 hectares, is known to many as the ‘vegetable island’. An above-average number of sunny days and Lake Constance as a heat reservoir and water source provide the ideal conditions for vegetable cultivation, which is carried out according to the motto ‘quality over quantity’. Mainly small and medium-sized family farms cultivate the approximately 150 hectares of open land and 40 hectares of greenhouses; around 15,000 tonnes of vegetables leave Germany’s southernmost growing region every year. Cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, cucumbers, kohlrabi, radishes, lettuce, celery, tomatoes – the list of varieties that are grown and harvested here in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner is long. The island’s culinary offerings are complemented by the catch of around two dozen professional fishermen and the harvest from around 20 hectares of vineyards.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Reichenau

Incidentally, vegetable cultivation originated in a monastic herb garden: Walahfrid Strabo picked the first aromatic and medicinal plants in the Benedictine monastery, which was founded in 724 by Saint Pirmin, a wandering monk. As a religious, cultural and political centre in the early Middle Ages, the monastery made a name for itself far beyond the country’s borders. Its originally modest church, today’s St. Mark and Mary’s Minster, was transformed over time into a magnificent abbey church. The churches of St. George and St. Peter and Paul, dating from the 9th to 11th centuries, still impress visitors today. The three Romanesque churches illustrate early medieval architecture in Central Europe, and their murals portray the island as an important centre for European art history in the 10th and 11th centuries – reason enough for UNESCO to designate Reichenau a World Heritage Site.

From Lindau to Reichenau

Today, a statue on the poplar-lined access dam to the island commemorates the itinerant bishop Pirmin – his legacy is best viewed from above: the Hochwart viewpoint, located at a height of almost 45 metres, offers a fantastic view of the island with its historic buildings, vegetable fields and vineyards.

If you would like to visit the island of Reichenau from Lindau, you should plan a whole day. The best way to get there is by train and bus to Meersburg and then by boat to Konstanz. From Konstanz, you can continue by boat or train to Reichenau. If you are travelling by train, get off at the ‘Reichenau (Baden)’ stop and then walk to the island.