Friedrichshafen
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  Friedrichshafen
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Location of the town of Friedrichshafen within Bodenseekreis district
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| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Baden-Württemberg |
| Admin. region | Tübingen |
| District | Bodenseekreis |
| Lord Mayor | Andreas Brand (FW) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 69.91 km2 (26.99 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 400 m (1312 ft) |
| Population | 58,726 (31 December 2009)[1] |
| - Density | 840 /km2 (2,176 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | FN |
| Postal codes | 88045–88048 |
| Area codes | 07541, 07544 |
| Website | www.friedrichshafen.de |
Friedrichshafen is a town on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (Kreisstadt) of the Bodensee district (Landeskreis) in the federal state (Bundesland) of Baden-Württemberg. Friedrichshafen has a population of c. 58,000.
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Zeppelin
Friedrichshafen is best known for having been home to the Zeppelin airship company and the Dornier Flugzeugwerke as well as ZF Friedrichshafen AG, manufacturer of transmission systems. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was born in Konstanz (Constance), originally had his airships built in a floating airship hangar on the lake which could be aligned with the wind to support the difficult starting procedure.
Visitors can learn more about the history of Zeppelin airships in the large Zeppelin Museum sited near the lakeshore. In recent years a number of small Zeppelin airships have been constructed using modern technology (Zeppelin NT) and these can be booked for sightseeing tours.
The newly opened (2009) Dornier Museum is located at the Friedrichshafen airport. Here visitors can view restored Dornier aircraft and technologies.
Economy
Airship construction in the first third of the 20th century attracted considerable industry and contributed significantly to Friedrichshafen's relative prosperity, yet also exposed the town to air strikes (such as Operation Bellicose) by the Allied Forces in the latter part of World War II which almost completely destroyed its historical centre.
Apart from industry and tourism, various regular commercial exhibitions, such as Aero (aviation technology), InterBoot (water sports) and EuroBike are important economical factors. Furthermore, the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus cultural centre has become a popular location for congresses, conferences, and other events.
Transportation
The town enjoys regular-interval train services to Lindau and Ulm, as well as to Basel in Switzerland.
A car ferry service links Friedrichshafen to Romanshorn in Switzerland, and various other towns around the lake can also be reached by ferry. Since 2005 a fast ship connection has been in service between Friedrichshafen and Konstanz.[2]
Friedrichshafen has an expanding local airport which offers, amongst other services, a daily international connection to London Stansted and Dublin operated by Ryanair. It also acts as the hub for the airline carrier InterSky, which is a factor that has contributed to recent growth in the town.
The nearest big cities are Konstanz, St. Gallen, Ravensburg, Ulm, Munich, Zurich, and Dornbirn.
Amateur radio
Friedrichshafen is the location for Europe's largest Ham radio convention.[3]
Miscellaneous
Twin cities
Delitzsch, Germany
Peoria, USA
Polatsk, Belarus
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
See also
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG
- Dornier GmbH
- Dornier Consulting
References
- ↑ "Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. 31 December 2009. http://www.statistik.baden-wuerttemberg.de/Veroeffentl/Statistische_Berichte/3126_09001.pdf.
- ↑ http://www.der-katamaran.de/de/
- ↑ http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/index.php
External links
- City of Friedrichshafen (in German) and (in English)
- Zeppelin museum (English version available)
- Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen (English version)
- MTU Friedrichshafen
- ZF Friedrichshafen
- Zeppelin University
- Graf-Zeppelin-Haus cultural centre
- Count Zeppelin (Highland Pipes and Drums)
- Ham radio convention
- Zeppelin airship flights Friedrichshafen tour
- Südkurier Local newspaper for Friedrichshafen (in German)
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