Lindau, the largest town on the Bavarian shores of Lake Constance, consists of the picturesque old town on an island in the lake (its area recently increased to 68.8 hectares/170 acres by land reclamation to provide parking loting in the northwest of the town); the harbor used by the Lake Constance "White Fleet"; and the garden city of Lindau (residential districts, recreational facilities, industry), spaciously laid out amid orchards on the morainic slopes of the mainland. The two parts of the town are linked by a bridge (the Neue Seebrücke) and a causeway carrying the railroad.
On the south side of the island town of Lindau lies the Harbor, with the old lighthouse (Alter Leuchtturm), the 13th century Mangturm, between the Hafenplatz and the Seepromenade. At the ends of the outer harbor walls are Lindau's best-known landmarks, the 6 m/20ft high Bavarian lion (Löwe; 1853-56) and the 33 m/108ft high new lighthouse (Neuer Leuchtturm; 1856), from which there are magnificent views of the town and the Alps.
The old town in Lindau, much of which is now for pedestrians only, has preserved beautiful old streets of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque houses. Particularly attractive is Maximilianstrasse, the main street of the town, with its trim patrician houses, arcades, fountains and pavement cafes.
There is a pleasant walk round the island of Lindau on the Uferweg, with fine views from two old bastions, the Gerberschanze and the Sternschanze, and from the Pulverturm (Powder Tower) and Pulverschanze.
Lindau hosts an annual day-long children's festival every July. The festival usually takes place on a Wednesday, early in the month and has been running since 1655. Events include a religious service, a children's procession past the town hall and then various festivities.
Sports competitions, food and drink stalls, funfairs and amusements are held throughout the day to keep children and adults entertained.
In the Marktplatz in Lindau, near the east end of the town, are the Neptune Fountain and the Haus zum Cavazzen, with the Heimatmuseum and the Municipal Art Collection.
Diagonally opposite the Haus zum Cavazzen is the handsome Baroque Haus zum Baumgarten.
On the east side of the Marktplatz in Lindau are the Protestant parish church of St Stephen (1180; remodeled in Baroque style 1782) and the Catholic parish church of St Mary (Roccoco interior, damaged by the collapse of the roof in 1987). St Mary's, originally belonging to a women's house of retreat which was dissolved in 1802, was built in 1748-52 on the site of a minster destroyed in a great fire in 1729-30.
In Reichsplatz, to the south of Lindau's Maximilianstrasse, stands the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus; built 1422-36, rebuilt in Renaissance style 1578), with a colorful facade, in which are the Municipal Archives and the old Municipal Library.
To the northwest of Lindau's Old Town Hall, in Schrannenplatz, is the Peterskirche (St Peter's Church; founded about 1000), which became a war memorial chapel in 1928. It has the only surviving frescoes by Hans Holbein the Elder (c. 1480). Close by is the Diebsturm (Thief's Tower) of 1420 (view).
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Harbor, Lindau
Harbor, Lindau
Harbor, Lindau
Harbor, Lindau
Harbor, Lindau
Lindau
