Top 10 Amazing Facts about Mainau Island –a baroque palace, a palm house, orchids and more

Aerial view of Mainau Island.Photo by Holger Uwe Schmitt . Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Mainau Island –a baroque palace, a palm house, orchids, and more

Mainau island is a floral garden in the shape of a teardrop located on the Southern shore of the Überlinger near the city of Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The island occupies an area of 0.172813 sq. mi with a height between 395- 425 meters above sea level. Its highest peak is located at the Großherzog-Friedrich Terrac.

It is one of the main tourist attractions of Lake Constance due to the flowers and landscape with views of the lake. There is a greenhouse as well with a tropical climate and thousands of butterflies.

The island belongs to The Lennart Bernadotte Foundation and is Administratively part of Konstanz when the municipality of Litzelstetten, of which Mainau was part, was incorporated into Konstanz.

Here are 10 Amazing facts about Mainau Island:

1. The island belongs to the Lennart Bernadotte-Stiftung

The Lennart Bernadotte-Stiftung is a foundation that was created by prince Lennart Bernadotte . He was the Count of Wisborg originally titled the Duke of Smaland at birth.

The Swedish prince was a photographer, filmmaker, and a Swedish -German landscaper. Lennart focused his energy on his estate on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance, Germany, and created a charitable fund.

He was considered a major gardening and landscaping talent as he turned the island into a popular tourist attraction. He died in Mainau but the foundation Lennart Bernadotte Stiftung still owns the island since 1974.

2. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Lake Constance

Lake Constance in Mainau Island.Photo by Patrick Nouhailler’s… Wikimedia Commons.

Lake Constance is a majestic 63km-long lake that borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is the largest lake in Germany offering strikingly breathtaking scenery with its majestic expanse of water with some 270 kilometers of shoreline.

The lake is surrounded by numerous old lakeside towns and attractive villages each offering very pleasant diversions, along with incredible views of the Swiss Alps.

These quaint communities are overtaken by the immaculate beauty of Mainau island palms and orchids. The fauna is immaculate attracting visitors for its vibrant colors and beautiful lagoons.

3. It is considered a hamlet

A hamlet is a small settlement, generally one smaller than a village. The population of Mainau island has been small for centuries. Meyer’s Lexikon’s declared that 28 people lived on Mainau in the issue of 1888.

In 1961 it was verified that 123 people resided here after a census was conducted showcasing the island’s small population.

A more recent census conducted in 2008 showed a population of 185 individuals.

The island occupies an area of 0.447584 km2 which limits significant population growth or settlement for other regions.

4. Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, created the island’s arboretum

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig was the founder of the island’s arboretum. He was the Grand Duke of Biden and had a summer residence on the island.

In 1856 he planted and nurtured 500 different types of rare and valuable broad-leaved trees and conifers.

Many of these were exotic and valuable like Sequoiadendron giganteum planted in 1864 and the Metasequoia glyptostroboides planted in 1952. Frederick died on the island on the 28th of September 1907.

His great-grandson Lennart Bernadotte created a garden and the Lennart Bernadotte foundation that owns the island today.

5. The island initially belonged to the Order of Teutonic Knights

Baden-Württemberg Mainau Germany . Photo by Maulaff. Wikimedia Commons.

The Mainau island belonged to the order of Teutonic knights before the Napoleonic medialization and secularization of the small German fiefs.

The Teutonic knights were the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem. They were a Catholic religious order founded as a military order in 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The island was later sold into private ownership. In 1853 Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden purchased the island as his personal property as his summer residence.

When he died childless in 1928 the island passed to his sister Victoria of Baden. When she died two years later she left the island to her second son Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland, and his descendants. 

Prince Wilhem gave Mainau to his only child Lennart Bernadotte in 1932. Lennart owned it until 1974 when he transferred it to the foundation.

6. In 1862 signs of early inhabitants were discovered on the island

Archaic artifacts were found on this island that supports the early population in the area.

The prehistoric artifacts are believed to date back to the Neolithic Age which was the final division of the stone age.

This period is significant for its megalithic architecture, the spread of agricultural practices, and the use of polished stone tools.

Some of these tools were discovered along the South banks of Mainau and exploited by administrator Walter.

These items were flint splinters, an axe, a Muller, wedges, and a potsherd. Lake dwelling settlement that was made up of six houses was also uncovered and estimated to originate from the Bronze Age 3300 BC.

7. Mainau is considered a flowering island notable for its orchards and gardens.

Flower Garden in Mainau Island. Photo by Patrick Nouhailler’s… Wikimedia Commons.

The island which has over 500 species of deciduous and coniferous trees is maintained as a garden island and a model of excellent environmental practices.

The island’s advantageous climate at the lake allows palms and Mediterranean trees and vast tropical and subtropical vegetation to grow.

This has in turn named the Mainau a flowering island on Lake Konstanz. The island has over 1200 kinds of roses in the rose garden commissioned by Frederick I that is strictly geometric.

At the beginning of the Blumenjahr, there is an exhibition of orchids with Spring and summer flowers with different kinds of fuchsia growing on the affiliated shore garden on the eastern side of Südgarten.

8. The island has a baroque palace

Baroque Palace on Mainau Island. Photo by Patrick Nouhailler’s… Wikimedia Commons.

A Baroque Palace is an 18th-century Baroque Style Architecture replica with a long and fascinating history that matches up with the development of Timisoara, Romania.

The baroque palace on Insel Mainau was built in 1740 by the Teutonic knights. It was furnished with an ornamental mixed-style garden in the mid-nineteenth century.

The palace was bought by the Hungarian -Austrian Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy de Galantha wealthy Hungarian renowned for his art collection in 1827 and then by Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden in 1853.

9. Mainau Bay is the location of the university of Konstanz sailing club

The University of Konstanz is located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966.

The university is Germany’s southernmost university situated on the shore of Lake Constance four kilometers from the Swiss border. 

The university offers various programs one of which is the sailing club. Sailing is a sport that uses wind to power sails and propels the boat forward.

Mainau’s bay offers a safe serene environment for university students to understand sailing activities.

10. The island has been a part of Konstanz since December

Mainau island is under the Baden-Württemberg state and Konstanz municipality. The island is also under the district of Konstanz administratively jurisdiction since 1st December 1971.

The island is still part of Litzelstetten which has 15 wards that are administrative subdivisions of Konstanz.