Seegfrörne is the name of the weather phenomenon that turned Lake Constance into a giant ice rink in February 1963. The last time Lake Constance was completely frozen was 60 years ago. At that time, the ice cover was so solid that cars could drive from bank to bank, explains a spokesman for the German Weather Service (DWD). At that time, numerous ice skaters and pedestrians cavorted on the 536 square kilometer body of water in the border triangle of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
But the greatest spectacle was the ice procession. On February 12, 1963, around 2,500 people gathered to accompany a wooden bust of Saint John from the Bodensee municipality of Hagnau to the other side of the river in Münsterlingen in the Swiss canton of Thurgau. In doing so, they followed a centuries-old tradition. “Since 1573, the bust has changed shore every time the sea freezes,” says Otto Braun, president of the parish of Altnau-Güttingen-Münsterlingen.
Will Lake Constance freeze over again?
For 60 years, Saint John has been waiting on the Swiss side to return to Germany. The bust is currently kept in a green safe, according to Braun. A copy can be seen in Münsterlingen in the monastery church. A Ravensburger carver is said to have made the wood carving, as Braun says. There is no precise documentation about the purpose of the procession, the story behind it is unknown. However, the tradition has led to a friendship between the communities.
Will St. John ever change shores again? “Hope dies last,” says Braun. This would require another sea freeze. The conditions for this are rather bad in view of climate change, as the German Weather Service explains. But it is not impossible. Most recently, in 2017 and 2002, parts of the lake were so frozen that you could move on them.
According to experts, the prerequisite for a sea frost is a cool summer and a very cold winter with permafrost. According to old chronicles, Lake Constance has frozen a total of 37 times since the year 875. The spectacle of that year ended with mild temperatures in March 1963.
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