It is situated on the west shore of the lake of Constance, and by rail is 512 m. N.E. of Zurich, 122 m. S.E. of Constance, and io m. N.W. of Rorschach. In 1900 its population was 4577, mostly German-speaking, while there were 3093 Protestants to 1478 Romanists. Originally a small fishing village, it belonged to the abbot of St Gall from 1432 to 1798, when it became part of the canton of Thurgau. In 1856 the railway from Romanshorn to Zurich was opened, and this vastly increased the commercial importance of Romanshorn.
Nowadays it is the centre of a great transit trade, as it communicates, by means of the lake, with the principal towns on its shores. The corn trade and that in timber are among the most important, while there are many industrial establishments. It is essentially a modern commercial centre.
Located on the South Shore of Lake Constance the oldest traces date back to the year 779 A.D. The old church represents itself to us as a witness of the past. Romanshorn was for centuries an important "outpost" for the abbey of St. Gallen. Starting as a small village the number of inhabitants raised explosively as the train-station and the harbour were built and trains from Zurich arrived after 1855. With this major improvement in logistics the touristically interesting place Romanshorn was born.
A car ferry connects it to Friedrichshafen across the lake in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
