Flower gardens
Change with the seasons.
Hilarmont — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dionysos1970 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rufus46 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Olga Bauer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Salvador Escriva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rakoon — CC0
Mainau is the «flower island» in Lake Constance in southern Germany, near the Swiss and Austrian borders, about 5 km in a straight line north of the city of Konstanz, and linked to the mainland by a footbridge. The island covers about 45 hectares. For centuries it belonged to the Teutonic Knights, who built a Baroque palace on it in the 18th century. It later passed to the Swedish Bernadotte family, who turned it into a large botanical garden in the 20th century and still run it. Thanks to the lake's mild climate, plants from around the world grow here, and the island changes through the seasons: tulips in spring, roses in early summer and dahlias in autumn. It also has an arboretum of old trees, palms and a butterfly house where tropical butterflies fly freely. A long tree-lined avenue runs along the lakeshore between the gardens, and the palace terraces look out over the water and the mountains. An entry fee is charged, lower in winter. The island can also be reached by boat from Konstanz and other lake towns, and a visit needs at least half a day.
Change with the seasons.
Tropical butterflies.
Lake views.
Mainau, Konstanz, Germany
April to September.
By footbridge or by boat from Konstanz.