Rorschach is a lakeside town on the shores of Lake Constance ( Bodensee ) in the canton of St Gallen, one of 26 cantons on Switzerland.

It has an area of circa 1.8 km2 (0.69 sq mi) and of this area 7.3% is used for agricultural purposes, whilst 1.7% is forested. The rest of the land, 90.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

It is a renowned leisure area for locals with many sailing clubs, marinas and a harbour which has many lakeside ferries commmuting daily to and fro to other water front destinations on this 63 by 14 kilometer mass of fresh water.

It has a population of circa 9.700 with almost half being foriegn and home to many second home owners from Germany and Italy.

Train lines link the city to St. Gallen, St. Margrethen and Romanshorn. A rack railway, the Rorschach-Heiden-Bahn, leads to Heiden (800m above sealevel).

In 1856 the Rorschach station became the terminus of the Zurich–St. Gallen line. Formerly train carriages were transported over Lake Constance and thus it was possible to reach Heiden from Frankfurt or Berlin without changing trains.

The A1 highway runs closeby to the south of Rorschach but the town does not have its own junction. The highway leads towards St Gallen to the west and St Margrethen to the east.

Rorschach also has a harbour served by passenger ferries. These travel to nearby towns on the Swiss and German sides of the lake.

A number of hiking trails either start or end in Rorschach. These include the Via Jacobi (one of the routes of the Way of St. James), the Alpenpanoramaweg to Geneva, and the Rheintaler Höhenweg to Sargans.

THe nearby airport at Altenrhein serves the town, but is actually the airport for St. Gallen.

The lakeside promenade area hosts an excellent restaurant and walkway to the harbour, station and town centre.

Next Time discovering our 4 Land's Region
- Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.

If you require any further information on the 4 Land's Region please contact me.

Wes George
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