Zeppelin Museum

Top choice in Lake Constance


Near the eastern end of Friedrichshafen’s lake-front promenade is the Zeppelin Museum, housed in the Bauhaus-style former Hafenbahnhof (harbour station), built in 1932. The centrepiece is a full-scale mock-up of a 33m section of the Hindenburg (LZ 129), the largest airship ever built, measuring an incredible 245m long and outfitted as luxuriously as an ocean liner. The hydrogen-filled craft tragically burst into flames, killing 36, while landing in New Jersey in 1937.

Other exhibits provide technical and historical insights, including an original motor gondola from the famous Graf Zeppelin, which made 590 trips and travelled around the world in 21 days in 1929.

The top-floor art collection stars brutally realistic works by Otto Dix.