Lindau (officially in German: Lindau (Bodensee)) is a major town and an on the eastern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German). It is the capital of the Landkreis or rural district of Lindau in Swabia, Bavaria, and located near the borders of Austria (Vorarlberg) and Switzerland (St. Gallen and Thurgau). The coat of arms of Lindau town is a lime tree, referring to the supposed origin of the town's name (Linde means lime tree in German). The historic town of Lindau is located on an island, which is connected with the mainland by a road-traffic bridge and a railway dam leading to Lindau station.