Venus Friedrichshafen (D)

Friedrichshafen

Name origin

formed from the merger of the towns of Buchhorn and Hofen (named after King Friedrich I.)

First documented mention

1811 AD

Population

61,000

Area

69.94 km²

Federal state

Baden-Württemberg

Administrative region

Tübingen

District

Bodenseekreis

Vehicle registration

FN

River

Rhine (Bodensee), Rotach

Der Club Venus is located in Friedrichshafen-Löwental by the airfield.

Friedrichshafen lies on the northern shore of the Bodensee at 400 m above sea level, about 20 km southwest of Ravensburg, and can be reached via the Bundesstraße B31 and the inner-city train stations Friedrichshafen Hafen and Friedrichshafen Stadt. The city also has its own airport, and that's not just any airport: Friedrichshafen is the city where the Zeppelin was born. Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin, originally from Konstanz, settled the production of his rigid airships, the Zeppelins, here in the final years of the 19th century, thereby launching a pioneering achievement of German airship travel in Friedrichshafen. Subsequently, in 1912 the Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, founded by Wilhelm Maybach at Zeppelin's initiative, also settled in Friedrichshafen; in 1915 the Zahnradfabrik ZF Friedrichshafen was added, and in 1922 the Dornier-Werke were established here. Must-see attractions for visitors today are the Zeppelin Museum and the Dornier Museum.

The area of what is now the city of Friedrichshafen originally belonged to the Bistum Konstanz. Friedrichshafen was formed in 1811 from the former Free Imperial City of Buchhorn through merger with the nearby village and monastery of Hofen on the same Bodensee bay, which at that time fell under the Oberamt Tettnang. The city was named after the first Württemberg king, Friedrich I. (1754–1816). Friedrichshafen already prospered in those times as a privileged free port and trading hub for commerce with Switzerland. In 1847 the first rail connection came on the Friedrichshafen–Ravensburg line. At the end of the 19th century began the legendary boom through the settlement of the airship industry as already described.

In today's municipal structure, Friedrichshafen has consisted since the 1970s of the core city and the incorporated communities of Ailingen, Ettenkirch, Kluftern and Raderach. The picturesque location on the Bodensee gives the city a high recreational value. Friedrichshafen is connected by the scheduled services of the Bodensee-Schifffahrtsbetriebe with the towns of Meersburg, Überlingen, Konstanz, Lindau, Bregenz all around the lake; in addition, a ferry line connects the city with Romanshorn in Switzerland.

Friedrichshafen lies on the main route of the Oberschwäbische Barockstraße. The city's landmark, the Schlosskirche built in 1702, is a focal point of this route. At the time of its construction it was the largest baroque church building on the Bodensee.

Friedrichshafen holds nearly 300 cultural events per year, many of them especially over the summer months as harbour and lake festivals. Further attractions include a sightseeing flight with the Zeppelin NT over the Bodensee and the hinterland, a round trip with one of the many passenger ships, or a ride on a scheduled or pleasure boat.

Since 2003 Friedrichshafen has had its own university with the Zeppelin-Universität.

Born in Friedrichshafen were the machine manufacturer Heinrich Lanz, the entrepreneur Iren Dornier, the musician Stefan Waggershausen and the actress Sotiria Loucopoulos.