View of the old residence: Meersburg Castle.
The church territory around Constance was established in the 7th century and was the largest ecclesiastical province within the Roman Empire. Since the 13th century, the old Medieval castle, also called Meersburg Castle, had been part of the estate belonging to the Prince-Bishops of Constance. The sitting prince-bishop moved his residence from Constance to Meersburg when citizens of the episcopal town joined the Reformation. This move made Meersburg the center and administrative seat for the ruling prince bishops.
For 200 years, the old castle served as the prince-bishops’ seat. But soon, the medieval building was no longer sufficient for holding proper court for an ecclesiastical prince. Plans to return the residence to Constance failed, so Prince-Bishop Johann Franz von Stauffenberg commissioned a new structure for his administrative seat. His successors had the management buildings expanded into a representational palace, which the sitting prince-bishop was finally able to occupy after its 50-year construction period.
A beautiful lakeside location: the New Palace.
The equestrian school, today a state vineyard.
Meersburg was the largest town in the Prince-Bishopric of Constance, constituting the prince-bishops’ secular domain. As the seat of the first prince of the Swabian Circle, the town was also an important administrative seat. Meersburg has its prince-bishops to thank for its unique silhouette, which still characterizes the townscape to this day: a Baroque lake facade with a castle, palace, equestrian school and seminary. The dissolution of the prince-bishopric during secularization cost the town its importance.
Side of the palace facing the town.
The prince-bishopric ended in 1802, and Meersburg and its territory became the property of Baden. All prince-bishopric buildings transferred to Baden’s property administration, which housed government institutions therein, including a teachers college, a school for the deaf-mute and a boys’ grammar school. In 1955, the palace transferred to the state of Baden-Württemberg. As of 2012, following an extensive renovation, both interior and exterior, it can again be toured, now with a new palace museum!
