Dominicans Island
Encyclopedia
The Dominicans Island or Constance Island ( or ) is and island
in Lake Constance
immediately east of the city of Constance
. With an area of 1.8 hectares, it is one of the smaller islands in the lake. The island is separated from the city center by a six meter wide channel, and connected to it by a bridge. The island is dominated by the Steigenberger
hotel, which is housed in the former Dominican
convent.
The channel that separates the island from the mainland is 210 meter long, but only 6 meters wide. The channel is on the western side of the island; opposite the island is the Niederburg section of the old city center. The channel used to be much wider and was partially filled for the construction of the railway line. The island is barely recognizable as such because of the narrow channel is visible only to pedestrians walking on the wharf along the old waterfront. The Constance railway station and the port are about 600 meters south of the bridge. The road to the railway station leads past the city park.
In the south, the swan pond lies between the island and the city park. The city parks sits on a piece of the lake that was filled in in 1880. Even after this water was filled in, the Swan Pond is not completely surrounded by land. In the northwest, the pond abuts the city canal; is the southeast, the pond is separated from the open lake by a 15 meters wide bottleneck. This compound falls dry at low tide. The Swan Pond is almost 90 meters long and up to 30 meters wide, it covers an area of about 1,800 square feet.
The northern tip of the island is located 30 meters from the Old Rhine Bridge
, at the point where the Seerhein
flows out of the Upper Lake
towards the Lower Lake
. The chapter house
is located to the north of the main building. The hotel car park separates the two buildings.
To the east of the island is the Constance Hopper
part of Lake Constance. Here we find the famous terrace of the hotel's restaurant, as well as, further south, the hotel's lido and recreation lawn. At the southern end of the lawn, there is a pavilion
.
In the central building of the hotel, we find the grave of Manuel Chrysoloras
, who died here during the Council of Constance
.
The island belongs to urban district
Altstadt ("Old Town"). On 31 December 2008, 21 people reported having their principal residence on Dominicans Island.
village
have been found at some distance from the shore. Such finds have also been made in the swan pond between the southern shore of the Dominican island and the city park created in 1880. Fragments and wood were discovered, and traces of stilt houses. They were dated between the fifth and the third millennium BCE.
Other shore settlements in the Constance Hopper
, also stilt houses were dated to the Neolithic period around 2200 BC to 1800 BC .
At the end of the second Century BCE Celtic
people lived in fishing settlements on the territory of Constance and on the Dominican island.
in the area around Lake Constance started in the year 15 CE
with the conquest of Augustus
. The Celtic oppidum
was destroyed. The area then belonged to the province
Raetia
until the end of Roman rule around the year 400.
In the year 207, Emperor Severus
sent governor Constantine into the area. Constantine set up his head quarters in in Pfyn
in today's Thurgau
. He also set up a well-fortified hunting lodge on Dominicans island. He granted freedom of trade, which led to settlement forming around his hunting lodge, forming an additional layer of protection against his enemies, who included Alman von Stoffen, a Hungarian ruler, and an early Bavarian Duke. Although one could consider this Roman settlement as the earliest beginning of the City of Constance, the city was not named after this Constantine, but a 4th century emperor. Constantine was killed in an accident with a frightened horse and his enemies destroyed the castle and drove away most of the inhabitants of the island.
The castle was probably rebuilt subsequently. However, when the Alemanni expelled the Romans in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, the castle was destroyed again, so people would not be reminded of the hated Roman rule.
In 780 Charlemagne
was a guest on the island while travelling in the area.
In 1100, bishop Gebhard (III) of Constance
sought refuge on the island during the Investiture Controversy
.
The Chapter House
, 25 meters north of the monastery, was built long before the founding of the monastery. The first chapter house in the world was built in Worcester
in 1110.
Around 1300, the mystic and poet Heinrich Suso was born in Constance. He becam a monk at the Dominican convent on the island.
At the beginning of the Council of Constance
, from 6 December 1414 to 24 March 1415, jan Hus
was held in the dungeon
of the monastery. This was housed in the basement of the round tower on the eastern side, overlooking the lake, next to the Dominicans' dining room. During the Council, the French delegation was housed in the chapter house.
In 1507, Maximilian I
organized celebrations in the garden on the island during the Diet of Constance
. From 1528 to 1549 the convent was used by the city of Constance as a temporary hospital. It was then returned to the monks. In 1633, during the Thirty Years' War
, the Swedish fleet attacked the island .
In 1785 the monks were finally driven from the island by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II
, because a thriving industry was closer to his heart than the mendicant monks. On 26 July 1785 the last Mass was read in the church on the island, and the convent closed the following the day. Other monasteries in the area were also closed.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
immediately east of the city of Constance
Constance
Constance is a female given name that derives from Latin and means "constant." Variations of the name include Connie, Constancia, Constanze, Constanza, Stanzy, and Konstanze.Constance may refer to:-People:*Constance Bennett , American actress...
. With an area of 1.8 hectares, it is one of the smaller islands in the lake. The island is separated from the city center by a six meter wide channel, and connected to it by a bridge. The island is dominated by the Steigenberger
Steigenberger Hotels
Steigenberger Hotels is a German hotel company founded by Albert Steigenberger in 1930. As of 2007, Steigenberger owned 82 hotels worldwide, with a total of 14,283 rooms...
hotel, which is housed in the former Dominican
Dominican
Dominican may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to the Commonwealth of Dominica, an island nation in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean.** Demographics of Dominica** Culture of Dominica...
convent.
Geography
The Dominicans island, 246 meters long from north to south and up to 100 meters wide.The channel that separates the island from the mainland is 210 meter long, but only 6 meters wide. The channel is on the western side of the island; opposite the island is the Niederburg section of the old city center. The channel used to be much wider and was partially filled for the construction of the railway line. The island is barely recognizable as such because of the narrow channel is visible only to pedestrians walking on the wharf along the old waterfront. The Constance railway station and the port are about 600 meters south of the bridge. The road to the railway station leads past the city park.
In the south, the swan pond lies between the island and the city park. The city parks sits on a piece of the lake that was filled in in 1880. Even after this water was filled in, the Swan Pond is not completely surrounded by land. In the northwest, the pond abuts the city canal; is the southeast, the pond is separated from the open lake by a 15 meters wide bottleneck. This compound falls dry at low tide. The Swan Pond is almost 90 meters long and up to 30 meters wide, it covers an area of about 1,800 square feet.
The northern tip of the island is located 30 meters from the Old Rhine Bridge
Old Rhine Bridge (Constance)
The Old Rhine Bridge at Constance spans in the Seerhein. It is a combined road and railway bridge. In addition to one track of the Upper Rhine Railway at kilometer 413.5, it carries the , the road that connects the borough of Petershausen with the city center. The road bridge carries two lanes...
, at the point where the Seerhein
Seerhein
The Seerhein is a river of about four kilometer long, in the basin of Lake Constance. It is the outflow of the Upper Lake Constance and the main tributary of the Lower Lake Constance. The water level of the lower lake is about 30 cm below the level of the Upper Lake...
flows out of the Upper Lake
Obersee (Lake Constance)
The Obersee the larger of the two parts of Lake Constance.It has an area of 473 km² in size and extends over 63 km between Bregenz and Bodman-Ludwigshafen. Its maximum width is 14 km. The Romans called it Lacus Venetus, Lacus Brigantinus and Lacus Constantinus...
towards the Lower Lake
Untersee (Lake Constance)
The Untersee is the smaller of the two lakes that together form Lake Constance and forms part of the boundary between Switzerland and Germany.- Geography :...
. The chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
is located to the north of the main building. The hotel car park separates the two buildings.
To the east of the island is the Constance Hopper
Constance Hopper
The Constance Hopper is a bay in Lake Constance, to the east of Constance and north of Kreuzlingen.The leading outflow of the Upper Lake is the Seerhein, which begins in the Constance hopper....
part of Lake Constance. Here we find the famous terrace of the hotel's restaurant, as well as, further south, the hotel's lido and recreation lawn. At the southern end of the lawn, there is a pavilion
Pavilion
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
.
In the central building of the hotel, we find the grave of Manuel Chrysoloras
Manuel Chrysoloras
Manuel Chrysoloras was a pioneer in the introduction of Greek literature to Western Europe during the late middle ages....
, who died here during the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
.
The island belongs to urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
Altstadt ("Old Town"). On 31 December 2008, 21 people reported having their principal residence on Dominicans Island.
University of Konstanz
The University of Constance was founded in 1966 and was initially housed in the south wing of the convent building. The south wing was the temporary seat of the university, which was spread out to various buildings in several parts of the city, until the newly commissioned buildings on the Giesberg were ready. Even today, the hotel building is frequnetly used for lectures and meetings of the University of Constance and for events organized by the Constance European Colloquium.Early history
At the southwest of Lake Constance and in the present city of Constance, the remains of a NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
have been found at some distance from the shore. Such finds have also been made in the swan pond between the southern shore of the Dominican island and the city park created in 1880. Fragments and wood were discovered, and traces of stilt houses. They were dated between the fifth and the third millennium BCE.
Other shore settlements in the Constance Hopper
Constance Hopper
The Constance Hopper is a bay in Lake Constance, to the east of Constance and north of Kreuzlingen.The leading outflow of the Upper Lake is the Seerhein, which begins in the Constance hopper....
, also stilt houses were dated to the Neolithic period around 2200 BC to 1800 BC .
At the end of the second Century BCE Celtic
Celtic
The words Celt and Celtic can refer to:In ethno-linguistics:*Celts, a people of the Celtic nations*Celts , the modern Celtic identity*Celtic languages...
people lived in fishing settlements on the territory of Constance and on the Dominican island.
Roman History
The Roman ruleRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in the area around Lake Constance started in the year 15 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
with the conquest of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
. The Celtic oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
was destroyed. The area then belonged to the province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
Raetia
Raetia
Raetia was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It was bounded on the west by the country of the Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the north by Vindelicia, on the west by Cisalpine Gaul and on south by Venetia et Histria...
until the end of Roman rule around the year 400.
In the year 207, Emperor Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
sent governor Constantine into the area. Constantine set up his head quarters in in Pfyn
Pfyn
Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered around intensive pig farming and trading, dating from c. 3900 BC to c...
in today's Thurgau
Thurgau
Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. The population, , is . In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners. The capital is Frauenfeld.-History:...
. He also set up a well-fortified hunting lodge on Dominicans island. He granted freedom of trade, which led to settlement forming around his hunting lodge, forming an additional layer of protection against his enemies, who included Alman von Stoffen, a Hungarian ruler, and an early Bavarian Duke. Although one could consider this Roman settlement as the earliest beginning of the City of Constance, the city was not named after this Constantine, but a 4th century emperor. Constantine was killed in an accident with a frightened horse and his enemies destroyed the castle and drove away most of the inhabitants of the island.
The castle was probably rebuilt subsequently. However, when the Alemanni expelled the Romans in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, the castle was destroyed again, so people would not be reminded of the hated Roman rule.
Early Middle Ages
Little is known about the history of the island during this period. According to legend, the island is home to a castle of Merovingian have.In 780 Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
was a guest on the island while travelling in the area.
In 1100, bishop Gebhard (III) of Constance
Gebhard (III) of Constance
Gebhard III was Bishop of Constance and defender of papal rights against imperial encroachments during the Investiture Controversy.He was a son of Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia, and a brother of Berthold II, Duke of Swabia...
sought refuge on the island during the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
.
Dominican Monastery
According to various sources the island was handed over to the Dominicans in 1220, and 1234 assigned as a place to build a monastery by an order of the prince bishop Heinrich von Tanne of Constance. The monsatery was finally established in 1236 .The Chapter House
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
, 25 meters north of the monastery, was built long before the founding of the monastery. The first chapter house in the world was built in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
in 1110.
Around 1300, the mystic and poet Heinrich Suso was born in Constance. He becam a monk at the Dominican convent on the island.
At the beginning of the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
, from 6 December 1414 to 24 March 1415, jan Hus
Jan Hus
Jan Hus , often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague...
was held in the dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
of the monastery. This was housed in the basement of the round tower on the eastern side, overlooking the lake, next to the Dominicans' dining room. During the Council, the French delegation was housed in the chapter house.
In 1507, Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
organized celebrations in the garden on the island during the Diet of Constance
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
. From 1528 to 1549 the convent was used by the city of Constance as a temporary hospital. It was then returned to the monks. In 1633, during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the Swedish fleet attacked the island .
In 1785 the monks were finally driven from the island by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, because a thriving industry was closer to his heart than the mendicant monks. On 26 July 1785 the last Mass was read in the church on the island, and the convent closed the following the day. Other monasteries in the area were also closed.