The landscaping of the island experienced a particularly productive period after it was bought by Maximilian I of Habsburg in 1859. It was the beginning of a new era of garden and landscape architecture in Lokrum: the whole island was afterwards gradually transformed into a park.Since the historic building of the Maximilian’s palace was erected next to the Gothic-Renaissance monastery, the gardens in front of it (and the monastery) and along the access road were landscaped first, while garden terraces within the palace were constructed and planted later. The terraces formed with the newly renovated cloister garden an intimate palace garden, open only to the sea.