The 4.5 km long and 1.5 km wide island of Reichenau is the largest of the three islands on Lake Constance. Reichenau's gardeners grow tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce in their fields and greenhouses, while the nets of the professional fishermen catch Kretzer, whitefish and zander. In addition, the smallest independent winegrowers' cooperative in Germany's southernmost winegrowing region presses first-class Lake Constance wines. We can sample all these delicacies in various restaurants along the way or buy them directly from the producers.
The route around the island also has plenty to offer in terms of cultural history. We recommend visiting the three Romanesque churches of St. George, St. Peter and Paul and the Minster of St. Mary and St. Mark along with their museum units and learning more about the impressive history of Reichenau.
There are several opportunities to cool off on hot summer days along the route.
Directions
We start the tour around the World Heritage Island at Reichenau railroad station. From there, we follow the Kindlebildstraße onto the island dam. This runs along extensive nature reserves, which can be seen to the left and right of the path. The Schropflen ruins are an excellent place to watch the wildlife in the Wollmatinger Ried nature reserve.
From the cycle path, we can already see the church of St. Georg. It was built at the end of the 9th century and is known worldwide for its monumental murals. At the first crossroads, we turn right onto Seestraße. On the left is the free museum, which is open daily, and public toilets.
We follow Seestraße until we turn right into Hermannus-Contractus-Straße. After a few meters, a wall passage leads to the monastery garden, which was laid out after Abbot Walahfrid. If we follow the Walahfrid-Strabo-Weg, we come to the former monastery church of the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, the Minster of St. Mary and St. Mark.
From there, we cycle down Burgstraße and turn left into Schulstraße. At the end of Schulstraße, we turn right and then left again onto Schulstraße. We follow the road to the third Romanesque church of St. Peter & Paul. Here, too, there is another museum unit and public toilets.
We follow Niederzellerstraße until a sign for the campsite appears on the right. At the campsite, you can enjoy a refreshing dip in Lake Constance. We then continue along Bradlengasse, which runs alongside the lakeside path. The cycle path is now marked on the ground.
From the boat landing stage, we continue along Thurgauer Weg into Schloßstraße. At the top of the hill, we cycle along Obere Rheinstraße for a while until we turn left into Moosweg. We follow this along the vineyards until we reach Oberzeller Straße. At the crossroads, we turn right and follow the road until we can turn left again into Abtswiese. We cycle along the bank until we cross Pirminstraße and take the cycle path over the island dam back to the station.
