Lindau

The old town occupies an island of about sixty-eight hectares in Lake Constance, linked to the mainland by a road causeway and a railway bridge. The harbour mouth is marked by a Bavarian lion carved in sandstone, six metres tall, facing a lighthouse of 1856 across the entrance, both built when the harbour was rebuilt for steamers; the lighthouse is the southernmost in Germany and can be climbed. On clear days the Alps of Austria and Switzerland stand across the water. The Nobel Laureate Meetings have been held on the island each summer since 1951, bringing prize winners together with young researchers.

History

Remains of a Roman settlement of the 1st century have been found at Aeschach, and the name Lindau is first recorded in 882, when a monk of St Gallen wrote that Count Adalbert of Raetia had founded a nunnery on the island. St Stephan's church was founded in 1180 and a Franciscan friary in 1224, Lindau became an Imperial Free City in 1274-75 under Rudolf I, and it adopted the Reformation in 1528; in 1655, after the Thirty Years' War, the first Lindau children's festival was held in memory of the war. It lost its free status in 1802, passed to Austria in 1804 and back to Bavaria in 1805, and in 1853 a causeway brought the Munich railway to the island, followed in 1856 by the new harbour with its lion and lighthouse; the Nobel Laureate Meetings began here in 1951 (Wikipedia, Lindau).

The main sights

• The harbour lion - a six-metre sandstone lion at the harbour mouth.
• The 1856 lighthouse - Germany's southernmost, open to climb.
• The island old town - painted houses and a frescoed old town hall.
• The Alpine view - Austrian and Swiss peaks across the lake in clear weather.

When to go

May to September; the lake boats run in season and the island is crowded in August. The Nobel meeting week in late June and early July fills accommodation.

Before you go

Driving onto the island is restricted with expensive parking. August crowds are heavy. The Alpine view depends entirely on visibility.

Nearby

Bregenz lies east in Austria; the Allgäu rises north.

Key facts