A tranquil place in the heart of the island

The valuable arboretum makes Mainau a unique park experience at all times of the year. Take a stroll and linger awhile taking a closer look at the trees and shrubs. Welcome to our huge mammoth trees, Atlas and Lebanese cedars, sequoias and tulip trees to mention just some of the more well-known ones. The word arboretum derives from the Latin word arbor (meaning tree) and usually stands for a collection of exotic trees and shrubs.  Mainau’s Arboretum was created in 1853 when Grand Duke Friedrich bought the island. Over the years, he gradually increased the collection of exotic trees, from almost all the continents, planting them out on the high-plateau of the island.

More than 150 years later, today’s Arboretum consists of more than 250 species of trees and shrubs.
Tree lovers delight on first glimpsing Mainau’s Arboretum. Mammoth trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and coast Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) were the first of their kind to arrive in Europe from California in the middle of the 19th century.

Some of the magnificent trees in the Arboretum:
•    Atlas cedars (Cedrus atlantica and C. Atlantica Glauca)
•    Californian Nutmeg (Torreya californica)
•    Fir trees (Albies gigantean, A. pinsapo,nordmanniana, A. caphalonica)
•    Magnolia (magnolia grandiflora)
•     Japanese cherry (prunus serrulata)
•     Dove tree (Davidia involucrate)
•    Beech (Fagus)
•    Catalapa (catalapa bignonioides)