Schloss Mainau
Schloss Mainau is a Baroque castle on Mainau Island, just off the shore of Lake Constance. Its three-winged horseshoe plan creates a balanced eighteenth-century façade. Johann Caspar Bagnato built the present structure for the Teutonic Order between 1739 and 1746. A medieval hilltop castle previously occupied the site.
The Teutonic Order used Mainau as an administrative centre for its possessions around Lake Constance. The west façade displays the coats of arms of Clemens August of Bavaria, Philipp von Froberg and Friedrich von Baden. The order’s emblem appears on the east gable facing the lake. St Marien church and the surrounding park complete a protected historical ensemble. After secularisation in 1806, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden made the island his summer residence and added exotic plantings, orangeries and an Italian rose garden.
The 45-hectare island surrounds the architecture with an arboretum, flower gardens and Mediterranean vegetation. Giant sequoias rise among tulips, rhododendrons, roses and dahlias. Palms and citrus trees bring a summer landscape beside changing views of the lake and castle. An iron bridge connects the island with the mainland, while a palm house and butterfly house extend the garden experience.
- City
- Constance
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