Meersburg

Today, my parents and I drove on the northern part of the Lake Constance and stopped in a charming medieval city: Meersburg. The name of the town means "Burg on the Lake", the former referring to the castle which, according to a tradition from 1548, it was built here in 630 by the Merovingian king Dagobert I. The town is home of 2 castles; the Old Castle and the New Castle. The Old Castle, according to the Swiss chronicles, was built by King Dagobert I in the 7th Century. The New Castle was built in the 18th Century as a home for the Bishop of Constance. Following the Secularization of 1803, the New Castle was used for a variety of purposes before becoming a museum. Also two medieval town-gates can be seen, which are the remainders of the fortification.