DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Baden-Württemberg
Regierungsbezirk: Tübingen
Landkreis: Bodenseekreis

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Friedrichshafen is situated at an elevation of 394 m on the northern shore of the lake Bodensee (Lake Constance). The area of Friedrichshafen was already inhabited around 200 BC, Roman settlements originated between the 1st and 3rd century. Around AD 400 the Alemanni founded a village, which was first mentioned as Buchhorn in a document of 838. Buchhorn became the seat of a line of the counts of Bregenz in 1040. In 1191 the village came in possession of the Hohenstaufen family. Prior to 1219 the Hohenstaufen founded the new market place of Buchhorn, which was chartered as a town prior to 1241. In 1266, a new name for the old village, Hofen, appeared for the first time in documents. In 1275, Buchhorn obtained the status of an Imperial Town. In 1437 the town obtained the right of full jurisdiction and thus became an independent Free Imperial City. In 1488 Buchhorn became part of the Austrian countries as part of the bailiwick Swabia. Buchhorn had formed a union with Zurich in 1472, and in 1488 became a member of the Swabian alliancen. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Buchhorn was occupied by Swedish troops who renamed the town Gustavhorn. In 1802, Buchhorn became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria while the village Hofen came in possession of the Princes of Nassau-Orange who in turn passed it on to Austria in 1804. Only one year later Austria lost her possessions in Swabia to Württemberg. In 1810 Buchhorn too became part of Württemberg. In 1811 Buchhorn and Hofen were merged. The new town was named Friedrichshafen for King Friedrich of Württemberg. Since 1824 Friedrichshafen is the main port of Lake Constance. The opening of the railway line between Friedrichshafen and Ravensburg initiated the development of Friedrichshafen as a center of tourism in the area. Further lines to Überlingen and Lindau were opened in 1900/1901. The first flight of the Zeppelin airship 'Manzell' on 2 July 1900 initiated another important period for the town. In 1943/1945 large parts of Friedrichshafen were destroyed during 11 bomb raids. Today, Friedrichshafen is the capital of the Bodenseekreis district and has a population of about 56,500 inhabitants.

The so-called Schlosskirche (palace church) [left, no. 4130: far right] with its two 55-m-high towers are a well-known landmark of the city and a significant structure on the course of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. The church, whose history is inextricably linked to that of the Hofen monastery, was built between 1695 and 1702 according to plans by Christian Thumb as part of the monastery complex. In 1803, the imperial monastery Weingarten, to which the Hofen monastery belonged, was secularised and came in possession of the princes of Oranien-Nassau. In 1804 it was confiscated by Austria and in the Peace of Pressburg (Bratislava) by Napoleon in 1806 it was given to Württemberg. The village of Hofen was combined with the town of Buchhorn in 1810/11 to form the newly founded town of Friedrichshafen. The monastery complex with the church was assigned to the Württemberg Court Domain Chamber, which made the church building available to the newly founded Evangelical parish in Friedrichshafen in 1812. The church was badly damaged in a bomb attack during World War II in 1944. The south tower burned out and the roof truss was completely destroyed. It was not until 1947/48 that an emergency roof could be erected with Swiss help. The moisture that had already penetrated destroyed the stucco and the ceiling paintings of the nave, the pews and the organ. During the reconstruction from 1949 to 1954, the missing stucco was added in a simpler form based on old photos. The church renovation was completed in 1959 with the completion of the church roof.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlosskirche_Friedrichshafen]