The first evidence of a settlement on Mainau Island dates back to 3,000 BC. This was followed by an eventful history dominated by the Teutonic Order and the Thirty Year’s War. Prince Nikolaus Esterházy introduced the first exotic plants to the island. He was followed by Grand Duke Freidrich I, who was also a plant-lover. The island was then in the possession of various royal and ducal dynasties until 1932; when Prince Lennart Bernadotte took over the administration of Mainau and made it his new home. Work on redesigning Mainau Island started.
Around 3,000 BC The six-house settlement on Mainau’s southern shore, which was excavated in the 1930s, dates back to early settlement around Lake Constance at this time.
15 BC The Raetias inhabiting the land around Lake Constance became Roman including Mainau.
5:/6. Century AD The strategically important Mainau became an Allemanic dukedom and later part of the Frankish kingdom governed from Bodmin.
724 Mainau and other strips of land along the Bodanrück were given as a present to the powerful Reichenau monastery.
1271 Arnold von Langenstein, who resided on the Reichenau, gave the island to the Teutonic Order without asking anyone’s permission
1272 The Teutonic Order, originally resident in Sandegg (Thurgau/Switzerland), relocated to Mainau. The castle was extended. The Order‘s great influence was due to an advanced bureaucratic system and the power of the commanders, this was also true of the Mainau-commanders.
1647 During the Thirty Years’ War and following a devastating defeat, Mainau became the possession of Sweden for some months. The Swedes left the island again taking everything of value with them. The so-called Swedish Cross was the only thing they left behind.
1732 After a very slow recovery from the devastation of the war, the Order’s architect Johann Caspar Bagnato started building the new castle church. It was consecrated in 1739.
1739 Building started on the new castle- Bagnato who once again in charge of the construction. The building of the Order’s castle took seven years and was completed in 1746.
1806 The Teutonic Order’s commandery was dissolved and all its possessions passed to newly-founded Dukedom of Baden.
1827 Mainau passed from one owner to another until Prince Nikolaus von Esterházy bought the island in 1827.
He planted numerous rare plants on the island.
1853 The later Grand Duke Freidrich I. acquired Mainau. He formed and extended the Arboretum, Italian Rose Garden and Orangery. The Grand Duke brought back many rare trees and exotic plants from his numerous travels. These altered the appearance of the park’s landscape and formed the basis for today’s park.
1856 The marriage of the Grand Duke and Princess Luise, daughter of the later Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia.
They are Count Lennart’s great-grandparents.
1907 The death of the Duke. His son Grand Duke Friedrich II inherited Mainau. He bequeathed it to his sister Victoria, Queen of Sweden.
1909 The birth of Prince Lennart Nicolaus Paul, Crown Prince of Sweden, Duke of Smarland, son of Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.
1930 The death of Queen Victoria. Her son Prince Wilhelm of Sweden inherited Mainau.
1932 Prince Wilhelm handed over the administration of Mainau to his 23 year old son. Prince Lennart. He lost all his titles and possible right to succession when he married a commoner. In the same year, he made Mainau his new home. It became his life’s work; he designed its layout, opened it up to the public and constantly made improvements and modernizations. Today, Mainau is the largest touristic enterprise in the international Lake Constance area.
1961 Passing of the so-called ‘Green Charter’ in which Mainau clearly stated its position on working for environmental protection.
1974 Countess Sonja Bernadotte and Count Lennart Bernadotte put the entire Mainau under the umbrella of a Foundation. The Foundation’s goals include promoting science research, conservation of the countryside and protection of the environment, historic buildings and monuments and local habitats.
1982 Countess Sonja was appointed joint managing director of the business enterprise.
1991 The business was renamed the Blumeninsel Mainau GmbH
1998 Mainau was the first botanical garden in Europe to receive the Eco-Audit certificate. This involved voluntarily undergoing an examination according to environmental guidelines set out in EG-Directive Nr 1836/93. In September of the same year, the Mainau European Cultural Forum was founded, to bring together people on a cultural level from around the international Lake Constance area by introducing new activities and impulse. Working in close cooperation with other European regions, these initiatives promote music, film, performing arts and fine arts.
2001 Countess Sonja Bernadotte became the sole managing director of Mainau GmbH.
2002 Countess Bettina Bernadotte was appointed Countess Sonja Bernadotte’s personal assistant. Since 2007, Countess Bettina Bernadotte is the managing director of Mainau GmbH and Count Björn Bernadotte managing director of the Lennart-Bernadotte-Foundation
