Stein am Rhein (Schaffhausen) lies at the western end of the Untersee lake, where the Rhine flows out of the Bodensee. The town owes its name, Stein (rock), to a mighty granite rock on the small group of Werd Islands immediately before the town. The Wagenhausen provost building and the St. Othmar pilgrimage church from the 15th century are further Werd Island treasures.

Historic buildings, their facades adorned with beautiful paintings and oriel windows, surround the impressive town hall square. The small town owes the award of the Wakkerpreis by Swiss Conservation Society to its carefully preserved old town quarter. The town is dominated by the well-kept Hohenklingen Castle perched on a small rocky spur. The square tower from around 1250 is built mainly from boulders and rubble. Also elevated is the Burg Church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, its baroque onion spire seen from afar. The oldest religious site in Canton Schaffhausen is within a 3rd-century Roman castle.

In an attractive position on the Rhine is the former St. Georgen, Benedictine Monastery complex with its 12th century church. The medieval monastery is now a museum. Well worth seeing are the late-Gothic cloister and Festsaal (Hall) with a frescoe cycle dating from around 1515, very early evidence of the Renaissance in northern Switzerland.

In summer, passenger boats frequently call at Stein am Rhein and link Schaffhausen with Kreuzlingen on pleasant river and lake cruises. The area along the Untersee and Rhine is a popular walking and cycling area. Ferries across the Sitter and Rhine offer short cuts and route variations.