Gottlieben

10 September 2021

One of the smallest towns and communities in Switzerland owes its origins to Bishop Eberhard II of Constance. Gottlieben (Thurgau Canton) lies on the Seerhein, the short waterway between Lake Constance and Lower Lake.

He built a moated castle in 1251 because of conflicts with the citizens of Constance and to divert trade to Gottlieben. The castle was the residence of the bishop.

The town was built and fortified, and a trading centre with market rights emerged. The townscape is still characterised by beautiful half-timbered houses from the 17th century, a beautiful avenue along the Seerhein and Gottlieben Castle.

During the Council of Constance (1414-1418), it became the dungeon of the deposed pope John XXIII (1370-1419) and the Bohemian reformer Jan Hus (1369-1415).
Hus died at stake in Constance on 6 July 1415. His death led to the Hussite Wars (1419-1434), which devastated half of Europe from Brandenburg to Bavaria and Hungary.

During the Reformation, Gottlieben adopted the Protestant faith. Swedish troops destroyed the city twice during the 30-Year War, in 1633 and 1646.

Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837), the former queen of Holland, stepdaughter and sister-in-law of Emperor Napoleon I, went into exile in 1817 in the nearby castle Arenenberg. Her son, Prince Louis Napoleon (1808-1873), bought Gottlieben Castle in 1836 and had the residential wing rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style. In 1852 he ascended the French throne as Emperor Napoleon III.

(Source: www.gottlieben.ch).