Lindau

Lindau
Town
Aerial view of Lindau Island
Coat of arms
Location of Lindau within Lindau district
Lindau Show map of Germany Lindau Show map of Bavaria
Coordinates: 47°32′45″N 9°41′00″E / 47.54583°N 9.68333°E / 47.54583; 9.68333
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Swabia
District	Lindau
Government
• Lord mayor (2020–26)	Dr. Claudia Alfons[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	33.18 km2 (12.81 sq mi)
Elevation	401 m (1,316 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	25,846
• Density	780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	88131
Dialling codes	08382
Vehicle registration	LI
Website	lindau.de

Lindau (

.

Lindau is located near the meeting point of the Austrian, German, and Swiss borders and is nestled on the lake in front of Austria's Pfänder mountain. Lindau is popular with sightseers and vacationers for its medieval town centre and picturesque location on Lake Constance.

History

The first use of the name Lindau was documented in 882 by a monk from

settlement dating back to the 1st century were found in the district of Aeschach.

In 1180, St. Stephan's church was founded. In 1224, the

.

In 1430, about 15 of Lindau's

, the first Lindauer Kinderfest (children's festival) was held, in memory of the war. This festival, introduced by Councillor Valentin Heider, still makes up an important part of the town's identity.

Lindau lost its status as an

.

In 1853, a causeway was built to connect the

.

In 1922, the independent districts of

.

The

laureates to Lindau each year.

Tourist attractions

Lindau is a popular tourist attraction in southern Germany. The gardens of Lindau are best in spring or summer blossom, and summer is the peak tourist period. Lindau is famous for its architecture and outdoor attractions such as cycling, sailing, hiking, swimming, and camping.

• Harbour entrance with lighthouse and Bavarian Lion sculpture (Island of Lindau)
• Church of St. Stephan (
  Evangelical Church
  ), c. 1180 with remodelling in 1782
• Church of St. Peter (founded about 1000), became a war memorial church in 1928
• Minster 'Unserer Lieben Frau' former church of the monastery 'Maria Himmelfahrt' (which is German for Assumption of Mary), with St. Marien (Stiftskirche)
• Maximilianstraße (main street through the Island of Lindau with shops and restaurants)
• Historic Town Hall
• Casino Spielbank Lindau
• Gardens and Parks of Lindau, e.g. Lindenhofpark^{[permanent dead link]}
• Haus zum Cavazzen Museum
• Theatre Lindau Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
• Boat trips by Bodenseeschifffahrt
• Lindau's Old Book Archive (ERB – Ehemals Reichsstädtische Bibliothek) with books from the 15th to 18th century inside the historic town hall
• Hoyerberg near Hoyerberg Schlössle is a scenic lookout with views of the surrounding area

Economy

Historically, the trading route from

.

Lindau is home to several large corporations:

• Lindauer Dornier, textile machines
• Liebherr
  , electronics
• Cooper-Standard Automotive (former Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems)
• Cofely Refrigeration (former Axima Refrigeration, which was former Sulzer Escher-Wyss, a refrigeration and air-conditioning plant)
• Continental AG, BU ADAS (ADC Automotive Distance Control GmbH)
• Faurecia Automotive (former Angell-Demmel GmbH)
• Crane Co. ChemPharm Energy (former Xomox GmbH now part of Crane)

There are also numerous farms, producing apples, pears, strawberries, and related products e.g. Schnapps, wine and fruit juices.

Districts

Lindau is split into several districts. A search for Lindau Stadt will reveal the town's bordering of the neighbour parts of Lindau.

• Central: Island, Aeschach
• East:
  Zech
• West: Bad Schachen, Unterreitnau
• North: Oberreitnau, Hochbuch, Hoyern, Schönau

Transport

Lindau Hauptbahnhof

Railway

.

Bus – Stadtbus Lindau

Lindau's bus system is called Stadtbus Lindau, which departs from all stations every 30 minutes and runs until 22.30 daily, with special services for events. The bus system is run by the main local utility provider Stadtwerke Lindau.

Additionally RBA and the Zweiländer-line of Austria’s Landbus Unterland also operate from Lindau. Recently long-distance coaches have started running to distant German cities, an alternative to Deutsche Bahn trains.

Road

Lindau is connected to the Autobahn A96 (E43). Main roads (German Bundesstraße) include B31 and B12. The A96 links to the Austrian Autobahn A14 starting right after joining with the 7 km long Pfändertunnel. The tunnel was expanded into a 4-lane, 2-tunnel road that was opened in 2013 to accommodate increased north–south traffic.

Airports

Lindau does not have its own airport. However, it is close to Friedrichshafen Airport and Memmingen Airport, which usually serve tourist arrivals and European destinations. The nearest major airports are Munich Airport, Stuttgart Airport, or Zurich Airport.

Utilities

Lindau's local utility provider is called Stadtwerke Lindau, which provides electricity, water, telecommunications, public baths, and some other services to Lindau.

Telecommunications

The local utility provider Stadtwerke TK-Lindau started deploying fibre-optic internet to major businesses and new housing development areas. Other networks include cable television by

, as it is more commonly known in German) across the Island of Lindau.

Property, redevelopment, and other major projects

Lindau is currently planning several redevelopment projects across the city. The following is a list of projects that are planned for redevelopment.

• New train station – Lindau has been planning a new train station for many years. Currently there is agreement between the major stakeholders to build a new station near the shopping mall Lindaupark (Reutin district) and refurbish the station on the island. Both stations will remain active.
• Electrification of the train tracks to Munich (connecting Munich and Zürich) – this major project is sponsored by large external stakeholders such as the State of Bavaria, Switzerland, and Deutsche Bahn.
• Lindau Inselhalle – Lindau's main hall, which is used for conferences is due to be rebuilt soon.
• Multi-storey car park
  – related to the redevelopment of Lindau Inselhalle on the island
• Property developments near the train station on the island are planned, after rail tracks have been removed
• A new fire station was completed in September 2014 near Auenstraße (outside the island) – a major headquarters for all the former stations across town, including the Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) unit of Lindau.
• Property developments connected to the area that belongs to Deutsche Bahn near Reutin, once the new train station is completed
• Property developments in Aeschach district – including some major buildings, including luxury apartments and offices
• Railway underpass near the entrance of the island – Lindau is planning two railway underpasses for cars to ease congestion, partly caused by tourists visiting by car, causing 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
• Lindau Strandbad, the major public bath, is in discussion of being refurbished
• Major redevelopment of REWE Supermarket in Bodolz – New interior, new shops. It will be closed from December 2014 until April 2015

Local news sources

Lindau has a well established newspaper called Lindauer Zeitung, which is part of the Schwäbische Zeitung, which is released daily. Another newspaper is the Bürgerzeitung Lindau (BZ), which is published by the city council. It is released biweekly and contains announcements for the town by the mayor and local news. The paper is free, sponsored by advertisements, and can usually be found in shops. Both newspapers are available in print and online.

Schools and kindergartens

Lindau has two main high schools:

to provide for every child.

Hospitals, civic offices

• Asklepios Krankenhaus Lindau
• Bürgerbüro Lindau Archived 2014-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, the local office for all legal matters, e.g. passports, registration, etc.
• KFZ-Zulassungsstelle, registration office for cars
• Finanzamt (tax office), location in Lindau

Shopping

Lindau's large shopping centres and supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl, and REWE are off Lindau Island. However, the Island has many different shops that sell clothing, cosmetics, gifts, toys, antiques, and local products such as cheese and wine. Lindau's main shopping mall is called

and a supermarket.

Festivals and events

Thanks to its location on Lake Constance, Lindau hosts a number of festivals and events, usually in summer (between May and August).

• U&D, Umsonst & Draussen by Club Vaudeville Lindau. The festival hosts live music in a public area.
• Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau
  , Lindau's prestigious science event. Students from all over the world are able to meet up with Nobel laureates to discuss scientific developments. Lindau is soon to build a new conference home for this event.
• Psychotherapiewochen, a psychologist conference
• Rund Um den Bodensee, a sailing competition
• Gartentage 2014
• Lindauer Oktoberfest
• Lindauer Kinderfest

Notable people

• Achilles Gasser, also Gasserus (1505–1577), physician and historian
• Jacob Ernst Thomann von Hagelstein (1588–1653), painter
• Johann Jacob Heber (1666–1727), surveyor and geometrician
• Richard Z. Johnson, American attorney and politician (died in Lindau)
• John Spilman (died 1626), paper manufacturer and jeweler in England
• Janina Minge (born 1999), footballer

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.^[6]

Gastronomy

Lindau produces a number of local wines and beverages. There are a number of localities that produce wines (Rädlewirtschaften) from local vineyards and Schnapps made by local farmers.

Climate

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Lindau is located in a

(experiencing four distinct seasons) with mountain surroundings and the freshwater lake. Winters can be cold, with temperatures reaching as low as −20 °C on occasion. In some exceptional cases, winters can be so severely cold that major parts of the lake freeze, making crossing of the lake by car possible, however this is a once in 50- to 100-year event. Summers are normally warm to hot and usually humid due to the surrounding lake.

Heavy storms, rain showers, and thunderstorms are common in summer and heavy winds up to 8 on the Beaufort scale are possible. Usually, the lake is calm; however, there is a warning-light system for boats to indicate if heavy storms are forecast. Due to the surrounding mountains, snow is always in sight and a good indicator of weather. Lake Constance is located at roughly 400m meters above sea level.

Twin towns

Lindau is

with:

• Serpukhov (Russia)
• Chelles (France) Lindau was twinned in 1964 with the City of Chelles in France, which was initiated by the returned French soldiers after World War II.
• Reitnau (Switzerland)

Footnotes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lindau (Bodensee).

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Lindau".

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lindau.

• Official website
• Free Pictures Lindau
• A Week with Nobel Laureates at Lindau, free video from the Vega Science Trust
• Interviews with Nobel Laureates at Lindau, free videos from the Vega Science Trust
• Lindau photo gallery
• Lindau Tourism Information
• Landkreis Lindau