I've been living in Switzerland for almost 8 years and I don't remember such a warm and sunny autumn. It would be a shame if we would be sitting at home! Last Sunday we visited Diessenhofen- a small charming town that retains its medieval appearance. There are many beautiful sites to visit and experience here.
Would you like to walk with me?
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Diessenhofen
Diessenhofen is located in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The first mention of the village is from the year 757 when the priest Lazarus from the monastery of St. Gallen assigned a church to the village.
We parked our car in the Altstadt (City center) and started to walk towards the river Rhine. We passed by the Siegelturm (Seal Tower) with the lunar clock. It was built in 1545 by Martin Heünseler. There are seals and important documents stored in the Siegelturm for many centuries. It is listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
On the other side of the Siegelturm there is the historical fountain Siegelturmbrunnen (Seal Tower fountain) with the legendary flag-bearer on its pedestal. The fountains in Switzerland are very well maintained. Diessenhofen donated 20k CHF (around 20k USD) to The Ernst-und-Hanna-Hauenstein Foundation to support their efforts and keep the fountains in the town preserved.
Rheinbrücke
After we walked for about 10 minutes we came to the Rheinbrücke (Rhine Bridge). The bridge is built on the border between Switzerland and Germany and it connects Diessenhofen in Switzerland with Gailingen in Germany. There is a border control on each side of the bridge.
The first mention of the bridge dates back to 1292. The bridge has a long and interesting history. It was heavily damaged over the years, mainly because of the flood. It had to be rebuilt in 1667 and it was completely destroyed by Russians in 1799. The Rheinbrücke as we see it today was built in 1814. It was again damaged during the World War II and the front part of the bridge had to be rebuilt.
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It is a road bridge but there is a sidewalk for pedestrians. Let's walk to Germany and look in the direction of Switzerland 😊
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The dominant landmark on the right side is the reformed Church of St. Dionys which was first mentioned in 1468. There is the former St. Katharinental Monastery hidden behind the trees. Today, there is a health clinic situated in this complex.
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On the left side we can see the wooden Hänkiturm (It's in Swiss German, so I can't translate it). We will go there later in the afternoon..
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Let's go back to the town..
Unterdorf Castle
Yes, there is a castle in almost every Swiss town 😊
The Unterdorf Castle serves as a training center and seminar hotel. It also houses a well-known restaurant. The castle was built in the 12th century. The Unterdorf belonged to the Kyburg family until the 15th century. In 1474, the castle was bought by Johaness von Randegg. The castle had various purposes over the years. There was a time when it was split into many apartments as well.
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There are two ways to get inside of the Unterdorf. You either book a table at the restaurant or a room in the hotel. We didn't do any of these two, so we stayed outside of the property..
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There is a nice garden behind the Unterdorf and I'll make sure that next time we will book a table in the restaurant, so that we can walk around together 😊
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Hänkiturm
Before we go back home, let's visit the Hänkiturm. We will walk along the river for 5 minutes to get there. Look at the trees! The leaves are slowly changing their colors..
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There are a few iron statues along the Rhine..
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And one wooden fellow..
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We finally reached the Hänkiturm.
The tower was probably built in 1391 directly on the river Rhine. It was built to protect the town. In 1616 it was rebuilt to a prison. In the 19th century, its roof was broken down and the walls were raised higher up by Heinrich Hanhart who used the building for fabric dyeing. After his dead, the building was left empty. In 1947, it was restored by Diessenhofen.
I am a bit disappointed that the building is not open to the public. It would be a great museum!
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While we were walking back to the car, a guy parked his car right in front of us, so we couldn't continue on the same path. It was very strange as there was no parking space. We just looked at each other and walked around the car.
All of the sudden, the guy jumped out of the car and it turned out that he was a waiter that we know from our favorite restaurant in Schaffhausen. We barely know the guy, but he recognized us and properly introduces himself, his wife and their daughter. They live in Diessenhofen and were on the way to a city nearby. This is how you make new friends!
We were surprised that he recognized us as we didn't really talk to him before - well, he just took our orders 😊 They invited us for dinner and we will hopefully meet them more often..
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I hope you have enjoyed our walk in Diessenhofen!
All photos are taken by my Nikon D3200 AF-S NIKKOR 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 G II (except of the ones indicated in the text)
Thank you for reading,
Cheers,
Martina
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