The Untersee area at the western part of Lake Constance is characterised by its literary tradition. The works of the monks of Reichenau Monastery were already appreciated all over Europe in the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the area magically attracted artists and writers. Whereas the first intellectuals were still allured by Napoleon’s legacy and by Arenenberg Castle, an artists and writers’ scene developed by the end of the 19th century, which exists to the present day.

Joseph Victor von Scheffel settled down in Radolfzell in 1871. The poet and writer Hermann Hesse lived in Gaienhofen from 1904 to 1912. More writers followed, such as Hugo Ball and René Schickele, and not forgetting Fritz Mühlenweg. Apart from the many people who moved to the Untersee, the names of the writers born here should also be mentioned: Emanuel von Bodman, who chose Gottlieben as his place of residence was born in Friedrichshafen in 1874 and Jacob Picard, who became the poet of the German rural Jewry, was born in Wangen am Untersee in 1883. Otto Frei, born in Steckborn in 1924, left behind a fascinating report on the co-existence of two nations in a difficult time with his book “Jugend am Ufer” (Adolescence on the shore).