With the settlement by the Germans of the Slavic areas and the founding of the city of Schwerin in 1160 by Henry the Lion, a castle was built on the island in Lake Schwerin, and over the course of the centuries this has been gradually rebuilt and added to. Since 1857, when it underwent the biggest rebuilding programme in its history, Schwerin Castle has been seen in its present design and form. The Castle Garden was also repeatedly redesigned over the course of time. Its ultimate design dates from 1857, and it is on this basis that today’s restorations are being carried out. Ideological beliefs during the Communist era resulted in a lack of care and historically inaccurate restructuring.In the 1990s the Landtag or Regional Parliament, the main user of the Castle Garden,ordered work to begin on laying it out in the historically correct manner once again.