"The stream of the Rhine from the eastern Alps, flooding westward with great force, streams around this place with the lapping waves of the ocean. It carries in its middle the island that shines in the full adornment of its new buildings", noted the Reichenau Abbot Wahlafried Strabo in the 9th century. The island in Lake Constance resulted at the end of the last ice age ten thousand years ago as a gravel crest left behind by the Rhine glacier in the basin of the "Untersee".
Nature formed diverse areas around the island. In the shallow water zone many species of fish spawn, and rare ducks thrive. The beach grass between the edge of the land and the water is unique the world over. Rare plants, such as the Lake Constance Forget-Me-Not grow here. Reeds, meadowland forests and low-use meadows mark the appearance of this island countryside that has been declared a nature preserve.
Culture on Reichenau Island is quite apparently also always means agriculture. In addition to the outstanding churches, greenhouses are also a prominent feature of the island. Together with the monastery architecture, these also enjoy special protection as part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage program as a cultural region.