Lake Constance

Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein. The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen. The Rhine flows into it from the south following the Austro-Swiss frontier. Every year, Lake Constance becomes a main attraction for "theater on the lake", where giant floating stages are used for classic plays. Since 1946, the Bregenz Festival has maintained the ‘Opera on the Lake’, a 6,800 capacity floating stage on Lake Constance in Austria. Even more impressive than the actual stage is the fact that they change its design every two years, ensuring that the scene never gets stale.