Überlingen (German pronunciation: [ˈyːbɐˌlɪŋən] ^ⓘ; Low Alemannic: Iberlinge) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseekreis (district), and a central point for the outlying communities. Since 1 January 1993, Überlingen has been categorized as a large district city (Große Kreisstadt).

The history of Überlingen dates back to Roman times, but a variety of settlements antedated Roman occupation. Stone Age settlements, discovered along the shoreline of Lake Constance, document that the lake supported several dozen thriving communities of 50–100 individuals. These settlements fall under the category of the Hallstatt culture, and their habits, dress, and diet have been illuminated through the excavation of archaeological sites, such as a major site in Hallstatt, Austria, excavated in the mid- to late 19th century.

Similar sites, although smaller, have been found in vicinity of Überlingen - a site near Hödingen, another near Dettingen, by Constance, and a major site near the village of Unteruhldingen, where there is now an open air archaeological museum.

The dead were either burned, or buried in mounds or flat graves; women wore jewelry made of bronze or gold, especially earrings. Tools uncovered in archeological excavation suggest that these communities engaged in a combination of hunting, fishing, and agriculture.

The Alpine lands and the eastern Swiss Plateau were overrun by the troops of the emperor Augustus (31 BCE to 14 CE), who established the Roman writ from the Alps to the Danube, through the efforts of Augustus' stepsons Drusus and Tiberius. According to some interpretations of the Roman records, one of the Bodensee islands, probably Mainau, was the operations base for the military operations in 15 BCE.

The necessities of troop transport and ship building and maintenance required the Romans to possess the entire Swiss shore of the lake, and from these points along the lake, the Romans could mount a double-pointed excursion to the eastern Tyrol and present-day Bavaria, or to the West, in the Rhine valley. The Bodensee region, as a Roman province administered from Augusta Vindelicorum, present-day Augsburg, was governed by a finance official (procurator) under Tiberius's command. The road from Stockach to Überlingen, and then along the lake's shore to Uhldingen and on to Friedrichshafen, and the east–west train tracks, generally follow the path of the old Roman road.

Evidence of conflicts between the Romans, their power waning, and the Alemannic and other Germanic groups, their power rising, appears throughout the region. New settlements appeared on top of burned settlements and old villages and farmsteads were reclaimed first by forests and meadows and then again reclaimed by men. By the latter half of the fourth century, several families emerged as the warrior leaders, capable of fending off minor Roman comebacks, and of protecting themselves, their kin, and their dependents from not only the Romans, but also other groups.

As the Romans withdrew more and more of their forces, to concentrate on the western boundaries or to focus on the conquest defense of Iberia, Franks, particularly Clodwig, or Clovis (482–511), and Goths, particularly Theodorich (471–527), contested for control of the region. Throughout this period, Alemannic dukes maintained their primary seat in Überlingen. The Alemannic Überlingen was first mentioned in 770 as Iburinga. Before that, it was probably known as Gunzoburg (641), the seat of the Alemannic or Swabian duke Gunzo. The probable site of Gunzo's villa has been identified in the northwestern quadrant of the city, just outside the present-day inner moat.