Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che (Lake Con­s­tance Week) 2017 – An expe­ri­ence not only for the fans of water sports

Once a year, the har­bour of Con­s­tance trans­forms into a mee­ting place for sail­ors, rowers and water sports enthu­si­asts from all over Euro­pe. Becau­se the annu­al Inter­na­tio­nal Lake Con­s­tance Week is an event with a long tra­di­ti­on, whe­re the visit is always worth a trip to the lake. Alre­a­dy in 1909, the Boden­see­wo­che was laun­ched and not only deve­lo­ped into one of the most important Euro­pean water sports events, but also quick­ly to a social event. Until 1972, the event remain­ed an important mee­ting for fri­ends of water sports across natio­nal bor­ders, but was then discontinued.

The 100th anni­ver­sa­ry of the Lake Con­s­tance Week in 2009 high­ligh­ted the mea­ning and importance of the event for water sports. Ger­man and Swiss yacht clubs laun­ched a new edi­ti­on tog­e­ther with the Kon­stan­zer Stadt­mar­ke­ting after 37 years. With over 80 000 visi­tors, the restart pro­ved to be a com­ple­te suc­cess. Sin­ce then, this extra­or­di­na­ry event takes place every year in the bay of Lake Con­s­tance, in front of the twin cities of Con­s­tance and Kreuz­lin­gen, and inspi­res visi­tors and con­tri­bu­tors again and again. This year, the Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che takes place from June 8 to June 11, 2017 and offers a diver­se pro­gram on the sub­ject of water sports. Not only enthu­si­a­stic water sports fans get their money’s worth, as the pro­gram offers attrac­tions for the who­le family.

Sai­ling regat­tas of the extra class

The high­light of the four-day event are, this year as well, the sai­ling regat­tas, which are very well atten­ded by the spec­ta­tors. More than 160 sailboats com­pe­te on three regat­ta cour­ses over three days with the beau­tiful sce­n­ery of Lake Con­s­tance. Unli­ke other com­pe­ti­ti­ons, here clas­sic and modern yachts com­pe­te against each other and around 1000 par­ti­ci­pan­ts go to the start. Tra­di­tio­nal clas­ses such as “Lacus­t­re”, “Dra­chen” or “Meter­klas­se” can be admi­red as well as the modern ORC 1 – 4.

This year, for the first time, the three-man keel­boat Tri­as can be admi­red at the Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che. Inci­den­tal­ly, some of the par­ti­ci­pa­ting sailboats could have alre­a­dy par­ti­ci­pa­ted in the year of foun­da­ti­on in 1909 and are real his­to­ri­cal tre­asu­res. Spec­ta­tors can fol­low the com­pe­ti­ti­ons on a big screen at the har­bour squa­re. If you pre­fer to be up clo­se, you can cheer on the par­ti­ci­pan­ts direct­ly on the water. But you should secu­re yours­elf a place on one of the spec­ta­tor ships in time. A real tip is the evening arri­val of the yachts in the har­bour, whe­re visi­tors mar­vel at the lovin­g­ly main­tai­ned water­craft at clo­se ran­ge and can get into con­ver­sa­ti­on with the participants.

Audience’s favou­ri­te rowing competitions

Every year, the rowing regat­tas inspi­re visi­tors to the event. This year’s high­light in the cate­go­ry „rowing” is cer­tain­ly the rowing sprint regat­ta „Impe­ria­sprint” taking place on Fri­day evening. Noc­turnal illu­mi­na­ted rowing quads deli­ver an exci­ting race from the city gar­den to the har­bour of Con­s­tance, past the famous local land­mark „Impe­ria”. But also the Satur­day rowing regat­ta „Kreuz­lin­ger Pro­log” and the rowing regat­ta „3 Miles of Con­s­tance” are real crowd pul­lers and pro­gram points, which one should not miss as a water sports enthusiast.

Spec­ta­cu­lar water ski­ing acrobatics

Even the newer types of water sports are offe­red a plat­form at the Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che. Impres­si­ve water ski shows attract visi­tors of all ages this year as well. The show group of the Ger­man-Swiss Motor­boat Club, known all over Euro­pe, pres­ents spec­ta­cu­lar stunts and tricks on the water and wake­board twice.

You shouldn’t miss The Night Show on Fri­day evening, right on the artful­ly illu­mi­na­ted Kon­stan­zer Ufer. But also the per­for­mance on Sun­day mor­ning pro­mi­ses to inspi­re with ener­ge­tic acro­ba­tics and is a suc­cessful start to the last day of Bodenseewoche.

Mari­ti­me flair around the harbour

The tra­di­tio­nal Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che offers a varied pro­gram not only for the die­hard fans of water sports. Get a tas­te of sea air on the mari­ti­me mar­ket on the har­bour pro­me­na­de, which invi­tes you to stroll and lin­ger until the evening hours. In addi­ti­on to yacht access­ories, matching sai­ling and lei­su­re clot­hing and mari­ti­me well­ness pro­ducts, the­re are also culina­ry spe­cial­ties from around the world to discover.

In addi­ti­on, over a dozen his­to­ric steam­boats can be admi­red in the har­bor basin. Inclu­ding many steam­ers who have been on the waters of the world sin­ce the foun­ding year of the event. A Fer­ris wheel with won­derful views over the lake, carou­sel, bun­gee tram­po­li­ne and pup­pet theat­re trans­form the Inter­na­tio­na­le Boden­see­wo­che into an exu­berant folk fes­ti­val. Con­certs, dance per­for­man­ces, art exhi­bi­ti­ons and the water sports and boat show make sure that no visi­tor gets bored. Inci­den­tal­ly, access to the har­bour mile is free.

Enter­tain­ment for the litt­le ones

The Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che also offers a varied pro­gram for the litt­le visi­tors to ama­ze and get invol­ved. The dai­ly children’s boat rides in the model boat basin on the har­bour pro­me­na­de cer­tain­ly ensu­re bright children’s eyes and gre­at enthu­si­asm among the litt­le ones.

What’s more, the pre­sen­ta­ti­ons of the fire-fight­ing boat of the Con­s­tance fire bri­ga­de or the poli­ce boat of the water poli­ce exci­te the youn­gest visi­tors and are exci­ting pro­gram points for the who­le family.

An unfor­gettable weekend by the lake

The Inter­na­tio­nal Boden­see­wo­che brings mari­ti­me flair to the lake and gua­ran­tees an eventful sum­mer weekend for the who­le fami­ly. The right accom­mo­da­ti­on for this spe­cial event is quick­ly found. Book direct­ly at the Gästehaus Centro. Cen­tral­ly loca­ted at the rail­way sta­ti­on of Con­s­tance, the har­bour basin can be rea­ched within a few minu­tes on foot and our guest­house is thus the per­fect start­ing point for an all-round suc­cessful weekend. Our team will be hap­py to help you with any ques­ti­ons and has a few insi­der tips for his­to­ri­cal Con­s­tance in stock.

 

Pho­to cre­dits: ” Impres­sio­nen Inter­na­tio­na­le Boden­see­wo­che” – von Anett.graefe – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link