Radolfzell am Bodensee is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 at the western end of 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...

 approximately 18 km northwest of Konstanz

Konstanz

Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

. It is the third largest town, after Constance and Singen

Singen

Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.-Location:...

, in the district of Konstanz

Konstanz (district)

Konstanz is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Schwarzwald-Baar, Tuttlingen, Sigmaringen and Bodenseekreis. To the south it borders the Swiss canton Thurgau and Schaffhausen...

, in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

.

Radolfzell is a well known health care city (Mettnau) and an important railroad junction. In 1990 Radolfzell was named the Federal Environment Capital City of Germany.

History

This town developed out of a monastery founded in 826 AD as a "cell" under Bishop Radolf of Verona. The town belonged to the Abbey of Reichenau, then to the house of Habsburg for a long time, and for 40 years was a Free Imperial City. In the center is the gothic Cathedral of our Dear Lady, dating from the 15th century and decorated in the baroque style in the 18th. One particularly beautiful feature is the Rosary altar by the Zürn brothers and the Master of the House's Altar (1750) which contains the relics of the local Radolfzell saints Theopont, Senesius and Zeno. The "Hausherrenfest" is celebrated in their honour every year on the third Sunday in July, and the day after the famous Water Procession is held, as it has been every year, since 1797. The citizens of the nearby village of Moos make a pilgrimage to Radolfzell in picturesquely decorated boats to fulfil an ancient oath. Also, there is the Austrian mansion in the marquet square, built in stages from the 17th to the 19th century, the knightly hall dating from 1626, and various historical patrician houses.

Radolfzell was the birthplace of the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller

Martin Waldseemüller

Martin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer...

's mother.