The rural areas around Lindau were the property of monasteries or tiny counties, that rose and fell in the region.

When Napoleon gained influence in the area, all these entities were dissolved in the German Mediatisation and Lindau fell to Bavaria.

Lindau earned a lot of pet names during the period, namely "Second Principality of Liechtenstein" (Zweites Fürstentum Liechtenstein), "Paradise" (Paradies), "Germany's Grease Spot" (Deutschlands Fettfleck) and "Monte Carlo on Lake Constance" (Monte Carlo am Bodensee).

Also, while in some other parts of Germany, people suffered from hunger, Lindau had a surplus of fruit, milk and meat for export and a brisk construction activity.

[3] With the signing of the Austrian State Treaty restoring Austrian independence and the withdrawal of Allied forces, Lindau's bridging function for France, and thus the need for special position, became obsolete,[4] so on September 1, 1955 the district was reincorporated into Bavaria, with a negotiated transition period until March 27, 1956, when a ceremony was held at Lindau's Old Town Hall attended by Zwisler and then-Bavarian Minister-President Wilhelm Hoegner.