King Maximilian II of Bavaria enriched the existing Wittelsbach parks on the Starnberger See with two masterpieces of garden design: Feldafing Park (from 1850) and Rose Island, begun four years later.

On the former fishermen's island of Wörth, the garden designer Peter Joseph Lenné created a fragrant rose paradise which was later to become one of Ludwig II's favourite places. Among the guests he entertained here were Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the Russian Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna and Richard Wagner.

Feldafing Park, which was laid out by the court garden director Carl von Effner opposite Rose Island, is popular for its splendid views of the countryside framed by old oaks and beeches, with the Starnberger See and the Alps in the background. Plans for a summer palace on a hill in the park were abandoned with the early death of Maximilian II in March 1864.