freshwater lake called Bodensee in German. It is the capital of the Landkreis or rural

district of Lindau, very closely situated near Austria and Switzerland. Lindau is part

of Bavarian Swabia. The Coat of Arms of Lindau town is a Lime tree. The historic town of

Lindau is located on an 0.68-square-kilometre island, which is connected with the mainland

by a road-traffic bridge and a railway dam leading to Lindau station.

History

The name Lindau was first mentioned by a monk from St. Gallen in a document of 882, stating

that Adalbert, count of Raetia, had founded a nunnery on the island. However remains of

an early Roman settlement dating back to the 1st century have been found in the district

of Aeschach. In 1180 the St. Stephan's church was founded.

In 1224 the Franciscans founded a monastery on the island. In 1274/75 Lindau became an

Imperial Free City under King Rudolph I. The terminology 'city' here means German Große

Kreisstadt, which is an exception due to Lindau's rather small population of c. 24454 only.

In 1430, about 15 of Lindau's Jews were burned at the stake after being accused of murdering

a Christian child. In 1528, Lindau accepted the Protestant Reformation. Lindau first followed

the Tetrapolitan Confession, and then the Augsburg Confession. After the Thirty Years'

War, in 1655 the first Lindauer Kinderfest was held in memory of the war time.

After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Lindau lost its status as an Imperial Free

City in 1802. The city went to Karl August von Bretzenheim who gave Lindau and monastery

to the Kingdom of Austria in 1804. In 1805 Austria returned Lindau to Bavaria.

In 1853 a dam was built to connect the railway from Munich to the island. In 1856 a new harbour

was built, with its characteristic landmark, the lion sculpture, together with Bavaria's

only lighthouse. In 1922 the independent districts of Aeschach,

Hoyren and Reutin merged with the district. After World War II Lindau fell under French

administration and went firstly to Württemberg-Hohenzollern and then to the State of Baden-Württemberg.

In 1955, Lindau returned to Bavaria. Lindau is located near the meeting point of

the Austrian, German and Swiss borders. It nestles on the lake in front of Austria's

Pfänder mountain. Lindau is popular with sightseers and holidaymakers for its medieval

town centre and pleasant location on Lake Constance. Since 1951, the Nobel Laureate

Meetings at Lindau attracts many Nobel prize winners to Lindau every year. A congress of

medical physics is also held yearly. Tourist attractions

Lindau is a main-sightseeing spot in the very South of Germany. Visitors from all over the

world visit mostly in Summer. Lindau is famous for its rich, old town houses and variety

of different buildings. The gardens of Lindau are wonderful in spring or summer blossom.

Attractions range from old buildings to modern outdoor activities like Biking, Sailing, Hiking,

Bathing, Camping, etc. A very up to date and official site is Lindau

Tourismus, which takes care of visitors and acts as a starting platform.

Habour entrance with lighthouse and Bavarian Lion sculpture

Church of St. Stephan, c. 1180 with remodelling in 1782

Church of St. Peter, became war memorial church in 1928

Minster 'Unserer Lieben Frau' former church of the monastery 'Maria Himmelfahrt', with

St. Marien Maximilianstraße

Historic Town Hall Casino Spielbank Lindau

Gardens and Parks of Lindau, e.g. Lindenhofpark Museum 'Haus zum Cavazzen'

Theatre Lindau Boat trips by Bodenseeschifffahrt

Lindau's Old Book Archive with books from the 15th to 18th Century inside the historic

town hall Scenic spot with stunning views: Hoyerberg

near Hoyerberg Schlössle Etc.

Economy In former times an important trading route

from Nuremberg to Italy passed through Lindau; the lake fishery has also played a big role

in the economy of the city. In the 19th century Lindau was an important location for textile

industries. Nowadays Lindau has a well established industrial and touristic economy, including

Restaurants, Hotels and B&B's. For families it is also popular to stay at a Ferienwohnung,

which you find everywhere in the area. Lindau has a very low unemployment rate, likely due

to the economy mix and good trade near the Rhine-Valley. Today, there are a lot of small

amongst some industrial companies. Larger corporations

Lindauer DORNIER GmbH Liebherr Electronics

Cooper-Standard Automotive Cofely Refrigeration

Lindauer Fruchtgarten Continental AG, BU ADAS

Faurecia Automotive Crane Co. ChemPharm Energyy

Tanner AG; Tanner is also a major office complex which hosts several other companies

Duwe 3D Tecnotron Electronics in Weißensberg, very

close to Lindau Touristic economy

Hotels, ranging from smaller B&B's and Vacation rentals to established, state-of-the-art Hotels,

e.g. at the harbour front of Lindau Restaurants & Cafés, including many different

kinds of cuisines, Italian, Greek, German, modern Gastro cuisine, Thai, Chinese, etc.

and some take aways Swimming pools and baths. Some places are

public and free of charge, some places have entrance fee and contain a pool and all amenities

Bike stations, shops for bike rental Etc.

Other local economy Numerous farmers around town, producing apples,

pears, strawberries, etc. and higher grade products e.g. Schnapps or Vine or fruit juices.

Local hairdressers, Gyms, bakeries, butchers, ice cream and coffee shops

Variety of car dealers, petrol stations, etc. Care homes, care takers, Hospital, etc.

Districts Districts

Lindau is split into several districts. A search for 'Lindau Stadt' will reveal the

town's bordering to the neighbour parts of Lindau.

Central: Island, Aeschach East: Reutin, Zech

West: Bad Schachen, Unterreitnau North: Oberreitnau, Hochbuch, Hoyern, Schönau

Transportation Railway

Lindau has a main station the Lindauer Hbf, with trains usually from/to Friedrichshafen,

Munich, Ulm and Augsburg direction or Bregenz with OBB, Austria and further like Zurich

by SBB. Bus - - Stadtbus Lindau

Lindau's bus system is called Stadtbus Lindau, which departs conveniently from all station

every 30 Minutes and runs until 22.30 daily, with special exceptions at events. The bus

system is a very helpful way of getting around town for people of all ages, provided by the

Lindauer Stadtwerke, which is the main local utility provider.

Beside that the RBA and the Zweiländer-line of Austrias "Landbus Unterland" offer their

services. Recently long-distance coaches have started running lines to further away German

cities an being an alternative to the Railway by Deutsche Bahn.

Road Lindau is connected to the Autobahn A96. Main

roads include B31 and B12. The A96 will merge into the Austrian Autobahn A14 starting right

after the boarding with the c. 7 km long Pfändertunnel. The tunnel has been under

reconstruction and expansion into a 2-pipe system for a total of 4 lanes in the last

years to compensate for traffic going North and South.

Airports Lindau does not have its own airport, however

is in very close location to Airport Friedrichshafen and Airport Memmingen, which usually serve

holiday flyers and European destinations. For international flights, it is suitable

to refer to either Airport Munich, Airport Stuttgart or Airport Zurich, all in reasonable

distance. Utility

Lindau's local utility provider is called Stadtwerke Lindau. The business includes electricity,

water, telecommunications, public baths, and other products. The provider tries to improve

in all branches, particular also to integrate and deploy green-energy amongst homes, but

also by buying renewables only. Telecommunication

Lindau's telecommunication network is ever growing in the global race for faster internet

access. The local utility provider Stadtwerke TK-Lindau started deploying high-grade glass-fibre

internet to major businesses, including corporations or Hotels, but also to new housing development

areas. Other networks include cable television e.g. by Kabel Deutschland, which is available

to some streets and xDSL, e.g. by Telekom or any other provider due to the liberalised

market. Some systems have seen upgrades of the ADSL standard in the last years to cope

with the high demand of novel communication media. Special projects are also set up to

further improve the situation, e.g. plans to deploy a major WiFi hotspot network across

the Island of Lindau. Property, redevelopment and other major projects

across town It is worth to mention that Lindau is currently

planning several major redevelopment projects across. The vast amount of projects can be

followed through local news sources or e.g. spotting construction site signs. The following

is a list of objects that are in focus of redevelopment. Some of the items, e.g. the

new train station is in planning since decades. All dates, planning, etc. should be frequently

looked up in news source due to high amount of changes that projects face with costs,

construction issues an stakeholders. New train station - Lindau is planning a new

train station since decades. Currently the agreement between the major stakeholders is

to build a new station near the shopping mall Lindaupark and refurbish the station on the

island. Both station will be active Train electrification project for tracks to

Munich - This major project is sponsored by several big organs like State of Bavaria,

Switzerland and Deutsche Bahn Lindau Inselhalle - Lindau's main hall, particular

for conferences is due to massive rebuild very soon

Multi-storey car park - with the changes of Lindau Inselhalle comes a new car park, on

the island Property developments near the train station

on the island are planned, especially once land is accessible after rail tracks have

been removed New Fire station was completed in September

2014 near Auenstraße - Major headquarter for all former stations across town, including

the Technisches Hilfswerk unit of Lindau all united in one complex

Property developments connected to area which belongs to Deutsche Bahn near Reutin, once

the new train station is completed Property developments in district Aeschach

- Some major buildings, including luxury apartments and central located spaces for e.g. offices

Railway underpass near entrance of the island - Lindau is planning two railway underpasses

for cars to ease the situation with the many tourists visiting by car and blockage by frequent

crossing closures Several company extensions or relocations

are planned - As of September 2014 Continental AG is extending into a third office complex

Lindau Utility is deploying optical broadband across the city - Many pedestrian pathways

are opened and fitted with fibre to home Lindau Strandbad, the major public bath is

in discussion of being refurbished, updated, etc. but there is many open questions regarding

investments REWE Supermarket in Bodolz major redevelopment

- New interior, new shops; the building also includes a pharmacy, gym, etc. it will be

closed Dec 2014 until April 2015 Et cetera

Local news sources Lindau has a well established newspaper called

Lindauer Zeitung, which is part of the Schwäbische Zeitung. It is released daily. Another newspaper

is the Bürgerzeitung Lindau. It is released biweekly and contains e.g. announcements of

the town by the Mayor, but also very interesting small stories around local businesses, developments,

events, reviews and many more. The paper is free, but ad-sponsored and can usually be

found in shops or companies premises. Both newspapers are print and online available.

Schools and Kindergartens Lindau has two main high schools: Bodensee-Gymnasium

and Valentin-Heider-Gymnasium. With one middle school for girls and one middle school for

boys Among several primary schools across the town. Lindau recently completed construction

of a new Kindergarten home, which also included a Kita. There is high demand for childcare

and places and the town has obligations by the State of Bavaria to prepare for every

child. Hospitals, registration offices, etc.

Asklepios Krankenhaus Lindau Bürgerbüro Lindau, the local office for

all legal things, e.g. passports, registration, etc.

KFZ-Zulassungsstelle, registration office for cars

Finanzamt, location in Lindau Shopping

Lindau's main shopping is mostly remote, off the Island, when it comes to supermarkets

like Aldi, Lidl, REWE, etc. However, the Island holds many different shops with nice products,

including clothes, cosmetics, gifts, toys, antique items, local products like cheese,

vine, etc. Lindau's major shopping mall is called Lindaupark and hosts larger shops like

Müller Drogerie, which is a German Boots-like store or Footlocker and a supermarket.

Festivals and events With its special location near to the lake,

Lindau is also a famous spot for festivals and events. The main season for this definitely

in summer, between Mai and August. Some events run annually and for many years.

U&D, Umsonst & Draussen by Club Vaudeville Lindau. The festival hosts live music at a

public area. Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau, Lindau's

prestigious, world-class science event. Students from all over the world are able to meet up

with Nobel Laureates to chat about latest topics in science. Lindau is currently reviewing

and soon building a new state-of-the-art conference home for the world-renowned event.

Psychotherapiewochen, a famous event for psychologists Rund Um den Bodensee, which is a major sailing

competition Gartentage 2014

Lindauer Oktoberfest Lindauer Kinderfest

Famous citizens and children of Lindau, special groups

Lindau has a number of famous people and residents due to its international location near Austria

and Switzerland. Prof. Dr. Dr. W. Mang. Dr. Mang is a plastic

surgeon with world-status and he is regarded as expert in his field. Mr. Mang is from Lindau

and a famous citizen. The German site has compiled a comprehensive

list of citizens with honoured status Due to its close location to Austria and Switzerland,

Lindau also maintains a strong multinational attitude. Lindau has a well established English

Expats Group or Spanish Groups, etc. Genealogy

Lindau is believed to be the origin of the Lindauer surname of Germany, Switzerland,

Alsace-Lorraine, Austria and the Czech Republic. A Jewish family bearing this name is said

to have descended from Suskind of Lindau, who was among those killed during the pogrom

of 1430. Lindauer is also a famous wine brand from New Zealand, however there are no or

very few relations to Lindau from the product. Lindau has a very strong local beverages economy,

including all the local wine spots with fine wines from local wine yards and quality Schnapps

made by local farmers from their yearly harvest. Climate

Despite numerous modern metrological news, it can be said that Lindau is located in a

temperated-climatic zone with additional mountain surroundings and the freshwater lake. Winters

can be cold, wet and dry with Temperatures as low as -20 °C in some extraordinary years.

In some exceptional cases, Winters were so severely cold that major parts of the lake