Reichenau Island

Reichenau Island (ˈʁaɪçənaʊ) is an island in Lake Constance in Southern Germany. It lies almost due west of the city of Konstanz, between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance. With a total land surface of and a circumference of , the island is long and wide at its greatest extent. The highest point, the Hochwart, stands some above the lake surface and above mean sea level. Reichenau is connected to the mainland by a causeway, completed in 1838, which is intersected between the ruins of Schopflen Castle and the eastern end of Reichenau Island by a -wide and long waterway, the Bruckgraben. A low road bridge allows the passage of ordinary boats but not of sailing-boats. In 724, the first monastery was built on the island by bishop Pirmin, and Reichenau quickly developed into an influential religious, cultural, and intellectual center. During the Early and High Middle Ages, the Reichenau Abbey was one of the significant monasteries across the Frankish Empire. Because of its historical importance and the exceptional quality of the architecture and artwork found in the island's three churches and abbey, Reichenau was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. Although people occupied Reichenau in the Bronze Age and Iron Age, archeological evidence suggests that Reichenau was abandoned during the Roman era. Uninhabited until 724, when Saint Pirmin received support from the Carolingian ruler Charles Martel to build a monastery on the island. The first abbey, at Mittelzel, was wooden, although it was replaced by a stone building by 746. In the early 9th century, under the patronage of the Carolingian dynasty and Ottonian dynasty, the monastery flourished. In 816 the abbey was rebuilt in a cruciform basilica style, churches dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Mark were consecrated. Relics of St. Mark arrived at the abbey in the mid-9th century. Two further churches were built on the island consecrated to Saints Peter and Paul (in 799) and to Saint George (in 896).