536 km²
So much more than a lake.
How large is Lake Constance? How deep? How much water does it hold? Find the key figures with sources and clear context.
Sources checked on 12 November 2026THREE COUNTRIES. ONE LAKE.
OBERSEE · UNTERSEEIllustration based on our logo · not a navigation chart
The essential dimensions.
251 m
Maximum depth
48 km³
Water volume, rounded
63 km
Maximum length
14 km
Maximum width
273 km
Total shoreline length
NUMBERS YOU CAN PICTURE
So wide. So deep. So much water.
Three visual comparisons help you picture the scale. Figures are rounded, with assumptions and calculations shown for each.
Area
Around 75,000 football pitches.
That much playing area would fit mathematically into the lake’s 536 km² surface. We assume a pitch measuring 105 × 68 metres.
How we calculate it
536,000,000 m² ÷ (105 m × 68 m) ≈ 75,070 pitches, rounded to 75,000 for illustration. The pitch dimensions follow the Bundesliga standard.
Source for the comparisonDepth
Cologne Cathedral would disappear beneath the surface.
If the roughly 157-metre cathedral stood at the lake’s deepest point, around 94 metres of water would remain above its spire. The lake’s maximum depth is about 251 metres.
How we calculate it
251 m − approximately 157 m = approximately 94 m. The cathedral website gives 157.22 m, rounded here to 157 m.
Source for the comparisonWater volume
19.2 million large swimming pools.
The lake’s rounded water volume is mathematically equivalent to 19.2 million pools, each 50 metres long, 25 metres wide and 2 metres deep.
How we calculate it
50 m × 25 m × 2 m = 2,500 m³ per pool. 48,000,000,000 m³ ÷ 2,500 m³ = 19,200,000 pools. Our conversion uses the rounded IGKB lake volume.
Source for the comparisonHow much water is that?
48km³
48 km³ is around 48 billion cubic metres or 48 trillion litres. This conversion shows the scale; it is not a live water-level measurement.
OBERSEE · UNTERSEE
One lake experience. Several parts.
Lake Constance comprises the Upper Lake and Lower Lake. IGKB gives their areas as 473 km² and 63 km² respectively. Überlinger See is an arm of the Upper Lake. The deepest point lies between Fischbach and Uttwil.
IGKBDE · AT · CH
Three countries on the shore.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland directly border the lake. The tourism region also includes Liechtenstein, which has no Lake Constance shoreline. Territorial boundaries in the Upper Lake are not fully settled everywhere.
IGKBDrinking water for millions.
An IGKB factsheet dated October 2024 says Lake Constance supplies drinking water to around five million people through the lake’s water suppliers. The Bodensee-Wasserversorgung association alone serves around four million people in Baden-Württemberg. Lake water is extracted and treated for this purpose.
IGKB · 10/2024 Bodensee-Wasserversorgung · PDFAccident figures in context.
Reporting year 2025 · Lake Constance and 21 km of the High Rhine to Schaffhausen
The joint international police report for 2025 records 11 accident fatalities, including 7 in swimming/bathing accidents. It covers Lake Constance and the High Rhine stretch to Schaffhausen, so these are not lake-only figures or a historical total of all deaths in the lake.
Accident fatalities
of these, in swimming/bathing accidents
People rescued from distress on the water
In the same reporting area, 479 people were rescued from distress on the water in 2025. These figures come from the joint international water-police report published on 13 March 2026.
Polizeipräsidium Einsatz · 13.03.2026Quick questions. Clear answers.
How large is Lake Constance?
IGKB gives a total surface area of 536 km²: 473 km² for the Upper Lake and 63 km² for the Lower Lake.
How deep is Lake Constance?
IGKB gives a maximum depth of around 251 metres, between Fischbach and Uttwil.
How many litres of water does the lake hold?
The rounded IGKB volume of 48 km³ is about 48 trillion litres.
Read the sources
The lake dimensions are rounded reference figures from IGKB. Other publications may differ by survey, water level or scope. Water level and temperature change and are not presented here as live values.
Sources checked on 12 November 2026