Überlingen is a city in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. It is located on the northwest shore of Lake Constance and has a population of just over 21,000.
The Alemannic Überlingen was first mentioned in the year 770. It was granted city rights in 1211. The city center with cathedral, town hall, and fortification goes back to the time of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1180. As a market town and fortified bridgehead, Überlingen was of significance mainly for the Hohenstaufen emperors. The city flourished between the 13th and 16th centuries mainly due to widespread grapevine cultivation on the south-facing slopes of the Lake Constance. During the Thirty Years' War, the Swedes tried to conquer the city in 1632 and 1634, but were only successful in 1643.
Today Überlingen is a popular tourist destination at Lake Constance.
Culture
Überlingen is a stronghold of the swabian alemannien carnival. The carnival club (Narrenzunft Überlingen) of Überlingen is a member of the "Vierbund" a carnival union. The historical carnival clubs of Rottweil, Oberndorf and Elzach are the other tree members of this union. The carnival figure of Überlingen is called "Der Überlinger Hänsele" Überlingen is home to the famous boarding school Schule Schloss Salem's upper school campuses of Spetzgart Castle and Härlen.