ENKlinikum Friedrichshafen is the hospital of Friedrichshafen, on the northern shore of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg. It is a general hospital with round-the-clock emergency care, surgical and medical departments, obstetrics and a children’s department.
This page is for patients from abroad staying or living by the lake, and for those referred to this hospital. Complex cases in the region are also taken by the university hospitals: University Hospital Ulm and University Hospital Tübingen.
About the Hospital: Size, Group and Status
Klinikum Friedrichshafen is a general hospital and the heart of Medizin Campus Bodensee, a medical campus in Friedrichshafen where, according to its website, inpatient and outpatient providers work side by side. The hospital itself treats inpatients and emergencies; attached to it are an outpatient surgery centre, a therapy centre and geriatric rehabilitation for older patients. It is now run by a company of the AMEOS group, and its website also calls it AMEOS Seeklinikum Friedrichshafen; the 2024 quality report named the town of Friedrichshafen as its owner. It should not be confused with Kliniken Schmieder, neurological clinics elsewhere on the lake, or with private clinics in the region.
According to the 2024 quality report, the hospital has 370 beds and recorded 16,490 inpatient cases that year. It is not a university hospital but, per the same report, a teaching hospital (Lehrkrankenhaus) of the University of Tübingen. Its website describes it as the hospital with the highest level of care in the Lake Constance district. For patients, this means that the main specialties and emergency care are close by, while a rare, complex case may need a university hospital; see hospitals in Germany.
Departments and Areas of Care
Adults are treated here in most main specialties. Cardiologists treat rhythm disorders and heart failure, implant pacemakers and repair leaking mitral valves via a catheter. Internists and oncologists treat digestive and metabolic diseases and tumours, with palliative care available. Surgeons operate on the abdominal organs, including for obesity and reflux, partly with a surgical robot. Vascular surgeons treat narrowed arteries, aneurysms, diabetic foot and varicose veins; orthopaedic and trauma surgeons treat injuries, joints and the spine, with hip and knee replacement a main focus. Neurologists treat stroke and other nerve diseases; urologists treat the kidneys, prostate and urinary tract. Departments as named on the website:
- Akut- und Notfallmedizin — emergency medicine
- Allgemeine Innere Medizin, Gastroenterologie, Onkologie und Palliativmedizin — internal medicine, digestive diseases, cancer, palliative care
- Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie — general and abdominal surgery
- Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin und Schmerztherapie — anaesthesia, intensive care, pain therapy
- Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie — imaging and minimally invasive procedures
- Gefäßchirurgie und Gefäßmedizin — vascular surgery and medicine
- Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe — gynaecology and obstetrics
- Kardiologie, Angiologie, Pneumologie und internistische Intensivmedizin — heart, vessels, lungs, intensive care
- Kinder- und Jugendmedizin — paediatrics, from premature babies to teenagers
- Neurologie — brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles
- Plastische-, Ästhetische- und Handchirurgie — plastic, aesthetic and hand surgery
- Unfallchirurgie und Orthopädie – Endoprothetik und Wirbelsäule — injuries, orthopaedics, joint replacement, spine
- Urologie, Kinderurologie und urologischen Onkologie — urology, paediatric urology, urological cancers
The breast, colorectal and prostate cancer centres are certified by the German Cancer Society (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft, DKG); such a certificate shows that a centre meets defined quality requirements and is checked regularly. The vascular centre is certified by the German Society for Vascular Surgery and Vascular Medicine (DGG), the stroke unit as a regional stroke centre (Regionales Schlaganfallzentrum), and trauma surgery as a regional trauma centre (Regionales TraumaZentrum) of the German Trauma Society (DGU). The children’s department holds the “Ausgezeichnet für Kinder” seal and includes a level II perinatal centre with neonatal intensive care next to the delivery room.
Location: Getting to Friedrichshafen
The hospital is in Friedrichshafen on the northern shore of Lake Constance, reachable by air or by ferry from Switzerland. The town has a regional airport, Bodensee-Airport Friedrichshafen; the larger international airports in the region are Zurich, Stuttgart and Munich. The Bodensee-Fähre car ferry crosses the lake all year round to Romanshorn in Switzerland. The exact address comes with the invitation.
Your Stay and Accompanying Relatives
Privately or supplementary insured patients and self-payers can book elective services (Wahlleistungen) at extra cost: treatment by the head of department, a single or double room, a room on the Komfortplus ward and, if space allows, a bed for an accompanying person, all agreed in writing. Relatives usually stay in a hotel; Friedrichshafen is a lakeside resort, so book early in the season. AlenMed can help, see airport pick-up and accommodation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Klinikum Friedrichshafen a university hospital?
No, it is a regional hospital. According to its 2024 quality report, Klinikum Friedrichshafen is a teaching hospital of the University of Tübingen. Main specialties and emergency care are available here; for a rare, complex diagnosis the treating doctor may suggest a university hospital, for example in Ulm or Tübingen.
Does Klinikum Friedrichshafen accept patients from abroad?
Yes. Its website has an English section for international patients and says the hospital offers them organisational support. Its doctors decide whether it can take a particular case after reviewing the records and scans. For planned private treatment, the hospital prepares a cost estimate in advance, and payment goes directly to it.
Can I give birth at Klinikum Friedrichshafen?
Yes. The hospital has a department of gynaecology and obstetrics with a delivery room and its own operating theatre for caesarean sections. Next door is the children’s department with a perinatal centre and intensive care for premature and sick newborns. Women from abroad should contact the hospital well in advance.
Is the emergency department at Klinikum Friedrichshafen open around the clock?
Yes, the emergency department takes patients around the clock after serious accidents or with life-threatening conditions; in such cases, call 112. For minor complaints, people in Germany see a family doctor or specialist, and outside surgery hours they call the on-call medical service on 116 117, a nationwide number.
How AlenMed Arranges Treatment at Klinikum Friedrichshafen
AlenMed translates records and scans into German and sends them to the hospital, which decides whether it can take the case and issues a cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag). The process is described under arranging treatment in Germany.
Payment goes directly to the hospital, which issues a visa invitation after the deposit; an interpreter attends consultations, and patients are met at the airport. Klinikum Friedrichshafen is not an AlenMed partner hospital. The company’s office is in Munich, with partner hospitals across Germany; if another hospital suits your case better, we will say so.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by the doctor at a face-to-face consultation.