Constance renamed: Is Joseph-Picard-Straße a fiasco for residents?

Constance renamed: Is Joseph-Picard-Straße a fiasco for residents?

Konstanz, Deutschland - The city of Constance took a decisive step in the redesign of its cityscape: On June 27, 2025, the "Conrad Grandberstrasse" was officially renamed "Joseph-Picard-Straße". This measure is part of a comprehensive program that deals with the names of streets that are connected to controversial personalities. The trigger for this renaming was the review of former honorary citizens by historians and the recommendations of the municipal council based on it, which have been in the works since 2019. [Konstanz.de] (https://www.konstanz.de/strassenum named) reports that this is not the only change that has been decided since then: six streets have been given new names, including Hindenburgstrasse and Otto-Raggenbass-Straße.

The renaming is more than just a cosmetic change; It has a practical impact on the residents. With the change of the street, these are asked to update their addresses at various institutions, such as delivery services and insurance companies. The city offers support here and has informed the residents about the necessary steps through an official letter. The letter calls on residents to change their identity cards within six weeks of June 23, 2025; However, no penalties for late changes were mentioned. Seemoz.de, however, indicates some difficulties that may have citizens in the search for information on renaming. For example, the specified Internet address for detailed information often does not lead to the promised content, which experience has shown that it causes confusion.

background of the renaming

In Germany, streets are often named according to personalities who have contributed to the history of a city in some form. In the event of Constance, an expert commission introduced the review of the road racing in 2014 in order to also meet the matters of residents and society. This review resulted in the decision that in 2019 the honorary citizenships of Dr. Conrad Gröber and other controversial figures were revoked. This illustrates the will of the city to break away from questionable historical links. [Juraonline.de] (https://juraonline.de/blog/2023/26/umenamen-einerer-strasse- through-den-stadtbezirksrksrksrat/) emphasizes that street circumstances must always take into account factual considerations and that the interests of the residents must not be unnoticed.

The decision on the specific renaming is the responsibility of the municipal council, which has to weigh up private and public interests. Due to the corona crisis, the residents were at least informed in writing, which was certainly not the preferred form of communication for everyone. But the city has tried to make the changes as smoothly as possible. In the next few months, residents may continue to use their old address until all new street signs are installed.

As so often, a certain amount of irony should not be missing when it comes to renaming: the article on Seemoz ends with a winking remark about the information policy of the city administration. It remains to be seen how well this improvement of communication will work in the coming weeks to help citizens accept the new street names.