Suche
Mein Konto
The secret of Lake Constance: The decline of the Jura finally revealed!
Discover the history of the paddle steamer Jura, which sank in Lake Constance in 1864 and was only found in 1953.
The secret of Lake Constance: The decline of the Jura finally revealed!
A fascinating chapter in Lake Constance history has been rediscovered. In the latest documentary “Dive into the deep blue – Germany's lakes in southern Germany”, published by ARD, Lake Constance is put in the spotlight as the largest lake in Germany. The focus is on the many secrets that lie at the bottom of the lake. These include numerous wrecks that bear witness to the water's eventful past. As the Swabian reports, the documentary also examines the sunken ship Jura.
The paddle steamer Jura sank on February 12, 1864 in thick fog while traveling from Konstanz via Romanshorn to Lindau. Despite efforts to improve visibility with fog lookouts and bugles, a collision with the steamship Stadt Zürich occurred. Within a few minutes the Jura subsided; one sailor lost his life and another was seriously injured. The rest of the crew found refuge on the city of Zurich while the wreckage was removed from the Law was discovered almost 100 years later - in February 1953.
An interesting story
The Jura was built in 1854 in the Escher-Wyss machine factory in Zurich and was a smooth-deck paddle steamer made of wood. Initially used for the Société des Bateaux à vapeur du lac du Neuchâtel in Switzerland, the ship was later sold to the Lindau Dampfschiffahrt. With a length of 46.3 meters and a width of 10.25 meters, the Jura offered space for up to 400 passengers and reached a top speed of 10 knots (around 18.5 km/h).
After the collapse of the Jura, the wreck now lies at a depth of around 38 meters east of Kreuzlingen, off Bottighofen. It was documented by the first underwater photographs in 1969, and the artifacts discovered, such as the 47 kilogram ship's bell, are presented in the Kreuzlingen Maritime Museum. The Lake Constance Historical Shipping Foundation also plans to salvage and restore this special underwater archaeological heritage, with an estimated cost of at least 3.5 million euros.
The wrecks in Lake Constance
Lake Constance holds many more secrets. It is estimated that around 300 wrecks are registered in Lake Constance, of which around 50 have been identified. These sinkings were usually the result of storms, collisions, overloads or even the effects of war. The Wikipedia notes that despite historical accounts, there is no clear evidence of the Roman fleet active at the time of the naval battles on Lake Constance.
The preservation of these historical treasures faces several challenges. Threats such as quagga mussels, mud dumping and commercial shipping and fishing activities are damaging the wrecks. Scientists have begun to systematically record and map these treasures in order to preserve them and take protective measures.
The exciting history of the Jura and other wrecks shows how much history is hidden beneath the surface of the water. Lake Constance remains not only a popular local recreation area, but also a place full of secrets waiting to be discovered.