Schloss Salem

Lake Constance


Founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1134, the immense estate known as Schloss Salem was once the largest and richest of its kind in southern Germany. The Grand Duchy of Baden sold out to the state recently, but you can still picture the royals swanning around the hedge maze, gardens and extravagant rococo apartments dripping with stucco. The west wing shelters an elite boarding school, briefly attended by Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lake Constance attractions

1. Affenberg Salem

2.34 MILES

No zoo-like cages, no circus antics, just happy Barbary macaques free to roam in a near-natural habitat: that's the concept behind conservation-oriented…

2. Basilika Birnau

3.83 MILES

This exuberant, powder-pink Cistercian abbey church is one of Lake Constance's architectural highlights and a popular pilgrimage destination. It was built…

3. Pfahlbauten

4.3 MILES

Awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2011, the Pfahlbauten represent one of 11 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Based on the findings of…

4. Vineum

5.27 MILES

Housed in the 400-year-old Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospice of the Holy Spirit), this new museum presents an intriguing interactive romp through the history…

5. Burg Meersburg

5.29 MILES

Looking across Lake Constance from its lofty perch, Burg Meersburg is an archetypal medieval stronghold, complete with keep, drawbridge, knights’ hall and…

6. Neues Schloss

5.31 MILES

In 1710 Prince-Bishop Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg, perhaps tired of the dinginess and rising damp, swapped the Altes Schloss for the dusky-pink,…

7. Lakefront

5.43 MILES

Stroll the harbour for classic snaps of Lake Constance or to hire a pedalo. On the jetty, you can’t miss – though the pious might prefer to – Peter Lenk’s…

8. Insel Mainau

6.34 MILES

This pleasantly green islet has 45 hectares of Mediterranean-style gardens, including rhododendron groves, a butterfly house and a waterfall-strewn…

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