Photo: other places, Mainau, Baden-Wuerttemberg

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Mainau - Island-Flower

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The Island of Mainau, owned by the Swedish family Bernadotte, has been known as a giant botanical garden in the past half century. The huge flower garden was created here at the order of the owner of the island, Duke Friedrich I, in the 1850s. He chose the island as his summer residence, created the palace garden management here and thus continued the work of the Hungarian Prince Nikolaus II Esterhazy de Galanta, who first founded here the landscaped park in 1830.

Having bought the Island of Mainau in 1853, Frederick I started to change it, hired landscape architects, and even personally planted a linden here, naming it in honor of his daughter Victoria. This tree has survived to this day just like the 150-year-old cedars, Japanese Sophora, oaks and flowers in pots, reaching even the monarchy times. Thanks to the mild climate on the lake, lemons and oranges fruit on the island and a thousand orchids bloom in March in the pavilion “Palmenhaus”. The rose garden admires infinitely: 1,200 varieties of roses were planted in it. In addition, there are tulips, dahlias, all kinds of exotic plants, and Germany's largest butterfly pavilion on the island. There is a mini-zoo and a water playground.

The baroque palace, where the family of the Count lives, is the center of the Island of Mainau. The Baroque church is adjacent to the palace and is used for concerts and weddings. The island regularly hosts festivals: exhibitions of flower sculptures and a fair in May, Music Festival in July, and the Christmas flower holiday. The island has a system for the production of solar energy, and in the cafés dishes from locally grown organic products are served. You can get to the island from Konstanz by ferry or by a footbridge.

Mainau - Island-Flower

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