undestroyed Constance

There was no air bombardment of Constance in the Second World War. And this despite of the fact, that Constance would have been a relevant target. There was production for the german military inside the town. The company Funkstrahl produced parts for the radar in submarines, the Schwarzwald Flugzeugbau GmbH was developping a flying torpedo and the company Dornier transfered a part of its production from the heavily bombarded Friedrichshafen to Constance.

Constance was so lucky, because the border with Switzerland goes right through the middle of the town. In other german towns, the people switched off the lights at night to make the job more difficult for the bomber pilots. The inhabitants of Constance did the oppsosite. They didn't change their behaviour regarding artificial light and so it was impossible to recognise the border from the air.

Thus, you still find buildings in Constance, that are really old. The "Konzil", a warehouse which was built from 1388 until 1391 is an impressive witness of the medieaval wealth of the then important international trade center Constance. There are private houses that have original elements that reach back as far as the 12th century. Especially the part of town, that is called Niederburg (around the cathedral, the Münster), has some medieval charm. And the administration of the town has tried in the past years to make the place look even more historic. The asphalt on the square in front of the Münster has been replaced by old-looking cobblestones recently. Tweet