Earlier in the territory of modern Lake Constance there was a glacial valley. The total occupied area is 536 square kilometers, in some places the depth reaches 254 meters. Despite this depth, the lake can freeze during very severe winters. The pond is located at an altitude of 395 meters above sea level.
Lake Constance is located in the foothills of the Alps. Its waters are washed by the lands of three countries: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The reservoir consists of three parts:
- Lower lake.
- Top.
- The Rhine River, which connects two lakes.
The banks of the reservoir are mostly hilly, only in the southeastern part - rocky. On the coastline are several protected areas and cities;
- belonging to Germany: Konstanz, Lindau and Friedrichshafen;
- Austrian city of Bregenets.
A bit of history
Upper and Lower Lakes got their name back in the period of the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages the name Lacus Bodamicus appeared, but it took root only among the German-speaking peoples. The historian was unable to find out where the Bodamicus prefix appeared from, and it is not clear why as many as three reservoirs were united under this name.
Affiliation and Disputes
The length of Lake Constance is 237 kilometers, of which:
- 173 km belongs to Germany;
- 28 kilometers - Austria;
- 72 kilometers - Switzerland.
The water area itself has no formal boundaries, and this, by the way, is the only such place in all of Europe. Between the three states, too, there are no agreements on the boundaries and distribution of the reservoir. In principle, the lake is considered as a zone that does not belong to anyone, but the coast itself and 25 meters inland do not enter this zone.
The three countries that have access to the reservoir have completely different points of view regarding the borders. However, the issues of fishing and shipping between countries are regulated by separate international acts.
Water crossings
A common visa regime has been established between the countries, that is, you can visit three countries without any problems. And navigation on the lake is carried out by a fleet under the name "White Fleet of Lake Constance", which includes ships of all three countries. On the shores of the cities of Konstanz and Meesburg, you can rent a yacht, boat or ride a ferry. They ply often, but from 12 am to 6 am, with breaks of 1 hour.
The islands
Lake Constance is attractive in terms of tourism, on its shores are many interesting places and beautiful islands. We will talk about the latter later.
Mainau Flower Island
This small sushi island (45 hectares) attracts about 2 million tourists annually.
It all began a very long time ago, about 3 thousand years ago, when the Celts mastered this land. Around the year 15 BC, the Romans came to the island and launched a grandiose construction, built a port and a whole city.
Already in the X century, the island was owned by the Reichenau monastery, but not for long. The Teutonic Order came, which owned this territory for 500 years. Later, the island passed from one private hand to another. And in 1827, Prince Esterhazy became the owner, who was fond of flowers and began to actively breed them. Later, the owners were replaced one after another, and they all planted flowers. Now tourists come to the island to enjoy the Palm Park and the dahlia garden, exotic trees and the butterfly garden. The climate on Mainau is very similar to the Mediterranean, so the flowering of plants begins in early spring and ends in late autumn. If you come here, do not forget to look into the ancient knight's castle, built in the Baroque style.
Lindau Island
The city of Lindau is located on Bavarian land. Its historical part is located on the island, which is located at the place where the Layblach River flows into the lake.
The island with the mainland is connected by bridges (road and rail) and occupies only 0.68 km 2.
Most of this island on Lake Constance is occupied by old buildings, which tourists come to admire.
Reichenau Island
This piece of sushi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. After all, the building of the Benedictine Abbey has been preserved here . It was built around the year 724 and is a striking example of medieval architecture.
Tragedy over Lake Constance
In 2002, on July 1, two airliners collided in the sky over Germany. One is a civilian operating flight 2937 Moscow-Barcelona (TU-154). The second aircraft carried freight, headed along the route Bahrain - Bergamo - Brussels (Boeing 757), belonged to DHL.
In the disaster over Lake Constance, absolutely everyone died - 71 people. There were 52 children on a civilian ship.
Previous circumstances
The flight, departing from Moscow, drove the children on holiday to Spain. Onboard there were 52 children, 8 adult passengers and 9 crew members. It was an incentive trip organized for gifted children. Funding for the rest was carried out entirely from the budget of the Republic of Bashkortostan. One of the dead over Lake Constance was the daughter of Rim Sufiyanov, the head of the committee that organized the trip.
It is noteworthy that the group was late for their flight the day before. At the request of the travel agency an additional flight was organized and another 8 tickets were sold.
Boeing also carried out its planned flight with an intermediate stop in Bergamo, Italy.
How did it all happen
Airspace control over Germany was carried out by a private company in Switzerland - Skyguide. The control center was located in Zurich, and 2 controllers were supposed to monitor the flights, but one was absent for a lunch break. The two terminals were monitored by the remaining dispatcher Peter Nilson (at that time he was only 34 years old) and an assistant.
In the control room, the equipment was partially turned off, and Peter noticed the dangerous approach of the aircraft too late.
Just a minute before crossing the liners, the dispatcher instructed the TU-154 crew to go down. The crew was already ready for maneuver, but the Boeing had not yet been seen. And suddenly the TCAS system (an automatic aircraft warning system about danger) gave another, conflicting command about the need to gain altitude. At the same time, the Boeing crew receives a command to decline.
Only the TU-154 pilot Itkulov drew the attention of the rest that two conflicting teams were received. The dispatcher again indicated a decrease, the team of a civilian airliner confirmed it and kept silent about the message from the TCAS system. The flight team 2937 was misled, as it considered that besides the aircraft visible on the radar, there is one more, so you still need to go down.
The crew of the Boeing, following the instructions of its TCAS system, was on the decline. The pilots tried to contact the dispatcher, but he did not hear, because he was communicating on a different frequency with the crew of the TU-154.
When the pilots of both aircraft saw each other, they immediately tried to prevent a collision, but it was too late.
The crash over Lake Constance occurred at 21:35:32 on July 1, 2002.
The planes collided almost at a right angle, the Boeing stabilizer hit the TU-154 fuselage, as a result of which the latter broke in half. The passenger plane, while falling down, broke into four parts, which crashed in the district of Uberlingenwa.
The Boeing lost two of its engines and fell 7 kilometers from the remnants of the TU-154.
The only good news is that no one was injured in the crash on Lake Constance on earth, although some parts of the airliners ended up in the courtyards of residential buildings.
Investigation
Consideration of the causes of the tragedy lasted about 2 years. The case was handled by the German Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bureau announced its decision on May 1, 2004. The official causes of the disaster over Lake Constance were announced as follows:
- the air traffic controller was not able to timely inform the crew about the need to reduce, that is, could not provide a safe separation;
- the crew of the TU-154 aircraft performed a maneuver contrary to the instructions of TCAS.
The Commission also noted that the integration of the aircraft security system was incomplete, and the instruction to it contradicted itself. Partly blamed on the leadership of the Swiss company, which exercised control over the airspace. The company lacked employees, especially for working at night. In addition, in the control room on that day the hazard warning system was turned off, supposedly for maintenance. The main telephone line was also disconnected, and the second backup line was generally in a malfunctioning state. Therefore, the dispatcher Peter could not even agree with colleagues at the Friedrichshafen airport to receive the A320 airbus, which was late. For the same reason, the dispatcher of the center in Karlsruhe could not contact Nelson, although he saw that the liners were dangerously approaching, and he called 11 times, alas, to no avail.
What happened afterwards
But the story of the crash on Lake Constance did not end there. February 24, 2004 Peter Nilson was found dead on the threshold of his own home.
The killer turned out to be Russian Kaloyev Vitaliy Konstantinovich. He was 46 years old at the time of the murder. And the cause of this act was the death of his wife and two children during a collision over Lake Constance. According to Vitaly, he just wanted Peter to apologize, but he behaved aggressively, discarded the photographs of the Kaloev family, and pushed him away.
At the trial, Vitaly did not refute and did not confirm that he had committed the murder, but only said that after talking with Nelson he did not remember anything. As a result, he was sentenced to 8 years. This happened in 2005. A year later, the case was reviewed in the court of appeal, and the court took into account Kaloev’s limited legal capacity in connection with the loss of his wife and children and somewhat eased the sentence. As a result, he was awarded 5 years and 3 months instead of 8. In 2007, Vitaly even managed to get out ahead of schedule. He immediately returned to Russia, to his homeland in North Ossetia. And he is met as a hero. And in 2008, the man was even appointed deputy minister of architecture.
Bashkiria vs Germany
Bashkir Airlines, the owner of the lost plane on Lake Constance, filed a lawsuit against Germany in 2005. The company demanded compensation in the amount of EUR 2.6 million from the country. Despite the objections of Germany, the court of the city of Konstanz ruled that the German state was fully responsible for its airspace and had no right to conclude agreements with a foreign company on the provision of dispatch services. The agreements between Germany and the Swiss company Skyguide were declared invalid, and the court ruled to indemnify the airline.
The German government for a long time appealed the decision in courts of different levels. As a result, when the case went to the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe, the parties were able to agree peacefully, the case was closed.
Compensation for affected families and lawsuits
It is clear that no one can be returned after the tragedy over Lake Constance and nothing can be changed, but nevertheless, Skyguide insurance company had to pay compensation to the families of the victims. During 2004, they paid a total of about 150 thousand dollars. Naturally, the amounts due to each of the relatives of the victims are not disclosed.
After that, in 2005, the insurance company filed a lawsuit against Bashkir Airlines with a demand to compensate the compensation paid, since the pilots in the crash on Lake Constance were also to blame. However, the court dismissed the lawsuit.
Not all members of the families of the victims agreed to accept material compensation on the condition that the company would not be held legally liable. 30 victims went to court with lawsuits against Bashkir Airlines demanding compensation in the amount of $ 20.4 thousand for each victim. Long trials were conducted, from 2009 to 2011, and as a result, a Swiss court ruled that the maximum amount for each victim would be at that time 33 thousand Swiss francs.
Memory
Now, not only the sights on Lake Constance are visited by travelers. Many come to the crash site, lay flowers. Now there is a memorial called “Torn Pearl String”. And in the control room where Peter worked, there is always a living rose.
All the dead are buried in the Southern cemetery in the city of Ufa. Their graves are located in the order in which they sat on the plane following flight 2937. A memorial in their honor was also opened in the cemetery.
Only the Kaloev family is buried in Vladikavkaz. Three graves are always fresh flowers.
Public response
A lot of films have been shot about the disaster on Lake Constance. In 2005, the TV channel Russia released the film The Boden Trap. The National Geographic Channel also made two documentaries.
Switzerland and Germany jointly shot a television movie about the crash called "Flying in the Night - A Catastrophe Over Uberlingen." There are a number of other films and documentaries filmed by various film companies.
In July this year, a film about the disaster and the murder of a dispatcher will be released in Russia. The picture is called “Unforgiven,” directed by Sarik Andreasyan.