The Extended Bernadotte Family, News Part 1: March 2017 -


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The highlights of the Christmas Garden Mainau Island 2024 have been decided! From November 19 to January 6 the island will be transformed into an enchanting sea of glitter. On the three-kilometer-long new audiovisual tour of the island, artfully staged light magic can be experienced in the fourth season of the Christmas Garden Mainau Island.
Managing Director Countess Bettina Bernadotte: "This year, the Christmas Garden on Mainau Island offers a magical mix of new light installations and popular classics. A special offer is the family days at reduced prices. On these days there are great surprises for children that bring the magic of this festive season to life."
Managing Director Count Björn Bernadotte: “For the first time, our palm house is part of the route and a stop there is always worthwhile: Enjoy a warming drink or a fine speciality together with your loved ones in a cozy, festive atmosphere in front of the exotic of majestic palm trees - a unique Christmas experience.”
 
On November 7, ceremonial opening of the Mentor Weeks 2024 took place in the Comturey on the Mainau Island.
In her welcoming speech, Countess Bettina Bernadotte, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Mentor Foundation Germany, pointed out that adults are role models for young people. More than ever, it is our job to convey positive values to young people and to give them guidance in these turbulent times.
As part of the first Mentor Weeks, the Mentor Foundation Germany is launching the campaign "Be a role model", which is intended to encourage people to think about their own role as role models.

 
Yesterday at Mainau Island was the second Mainau Climate Dialogue, count Björn Bernadotte gave a speech:
"Today's Mainau Climate Dialogue was all about the forward-looking topic of "sea thermal energy". Experts at the Comturey explored questions such as how much potential there is in using heat from bodies of water such as Lake Constance, what opportunities and challenges sea thermal energy brings with it, and where and how it is already being used in the region. This year's Mainau Climate Dialogue was organized by the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector of Baden-Württemberg in cooperation with the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation."


Monica Bonde, daughter of count Carl Johan Bernadotte, attended Sophie Ekman Wretlind's 80th birthday celebration on November 15.
Monica on the right at the first photo
Pic 1 ** Pic 2
 
Countess Bettina and count Björn Bernadotte attended yesterday evening the offial opening of The Christmas Garden Island of Mainau, they gave also speeches.
Until January 6, the island of Mainau will shine as a colorful sea of glitter with artistic illuminations on the newly staged circular path. It is the fourth season of this extremely popular pre-Christmas light event in the Bodensee region, which awaits the public with a variety of new highlights and upgraded classics.
 
Count Björn Bernadotte: "Our goal is to appeal even more to people's emotions."
Is Mainau getting old? "Yes," says countess Bettina Bernadotte, whose family is now in its fifth generation on the island. But she adds with a smile: "Despite its age, Mainau Island is up to date, more than ever a place for relaxation, for everyone to recharge their batteries and for meeting people - and all this in the middle of Europe. I don't think that all of this will ever be outdated. We are a family business, and each generation accompanies the island for a part of its journey."
 
Have you ever wondered how the count's family used to celebrate Christmas? What's the deal with the sailor dolls and what does Countess Bettina Bernadotte actually do in her free time? The interactive Bernadotte exhibition in the castle answers these and other exciting questions and provides exclusive insights into the past and present of the work and creation on the island of Mainau.

 
Countess Bettina Bernadotte attended on December 4 The International Bodensee Lage Tourism Forum 2024, held on Mainau Island. Around 200 tourism professionals from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein took part in this important industry meeting.

 
Count Björn and countess Bettina:
"The island of Mainau is shining in Christmas splendor and we would like to wish you all a peaceful Christmas. May this special time be filled with joy and may 2025 bring us all happiness, health and many beautiful memories. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! God Jul!

Christmas Garden on the Mainau Island until January 6:


 
Countess Diana Bernadotte has her own hat shop in the Mainau Castle. She has been running it for 18 years. If you ever want to meet a real member of the Bernadotte family, the ground floor of Mainau Castle is the right place.
When visitors come to the hat shop, they often ask: "What is it like living in a castle? Is there a modern kitchen or is there still an open wood fire?" The milliner is often confronted with questions like these. She can handle them easily. Like her siblings, she grew up in the spotlight of photographers. Dealing with the media was part of family life and the media was part of advertising. "I grew up here with my siblings, we had a wonderful childhood". And as a teenager, she had her own views, she was considered rebellious.
 
The website of the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation:

All siblings are members of the Board of the Foundation:

Over 80,000 people visited Christmas Garden on Mainau
The organizers announce that the 2024/2025 edition on the island was overwhelming and are summing up the most successful season to date. Christmas Garden is set to return to Mainau at the end of the year.
 
Count Björn Bernadotte received the Langenstein Alefanz Order. The Alefanz Order has been awarded annually since 1976 to a person who has previously stood out for individualism, stubbornness and “swimming against the tide”. It is considered one of the most important carnival awards.
 
2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the WWII. To mark this Mainau held today a memorial ceremony at the memorial and in the Comturey in memory of 34 victims who died on the island in 1945.
Countess Bettina Bernadotte emphasized how important the culture of remembrance is: "Let us remember and pass this memory on to the consciousness of the younger generations so that these terrible horrors of the past are not repeated (...)". Count Björn Bernadotte welcomed the guests on behalf of the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation and Mainau GmbH. He emphasized the importance of the research.
In 2012, at the suggestion of historian Dr. Arnulf Moser and the German-French Association of Konstanz, a memorial was erected on Mainau. It commemorates 34 prisoners of various nationalities from the Nazi concentration camps of Dachau and Auschwitz. After the liberation by Allied troops in the spring 1945, many victims were taken to the French army's emergency hospital on the Mainau Island, 34 of whom died there as a result of their previous imprisonment in the camp.
During the symbolic wreath-laying ceremony, the names of the 34 former prisoners were read out and they were remembered in a minute's silence.
 
Count Björn Bernadotte, the President of The University of Konstanz Society, awarded the Transfer Preis to Britta Renner and gave the laudatory speech. The Transfer Prize is endowed with 3,000 euros and is sponsored by The University of Konstanz Society. The award ceremony took place on January 31 as part of the New Year's reception of the University of Konstanz Alumni Association.

Count Björn has been the President of The University of Konstanz Society since 2015.
 
Count Björn Bernadotte presented on February 26 the Glonki Order of Der Hofnarrenzunft Mainauer Paradiesvögel (the Court Jesters' guild of the Mainau Birds of Paradise) to pop singer Anita Hofmann at Comturey on the Mainau Island.
 
The blooming island kingdom in Lake Constance offers a variety of natural experiences all year round – and in 2025, Mainau Island will be even more diverse: Under the motto "All about diversity," the new Flower Year will be all about the colorful blooms, a wealth of offerings, and a few exciting new features in the park and gardens of the flower island. With spheres and circles of various shapes as recurring elements throughout the island, things are literally happening on Mainau – thanks to a new attraction in Mainau Children's Land.
Countess Bettina and count Björn Bernadotte at the orchid show to start the Flower Year
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Whether in the park, in the restaurants, or as an event location – Mainau creates unforgettable experiences for its guests in a unique natural setting. Mainau has been committed to preserving this island paradise and the environment beyond for many decades and has consistently pursued the goal of operating as sustainably as possible at all levels ever since.
 
Mainau Island starts its Flower year: More than one million visitors are expected

50 Years - 50 Personalities - 50 Messages."
This slogan encompasses the entire Baden-Württemberg Association of Garden, Landscape, and Sports Field Construction and its history. This interview features countess Bettina Bernadotte, Managing Director of Mainau GmbH.

 
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