Today, the Wilhelma park is part of the highly visited zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, but the garden and its ornate buildings have a long and eventful history. After mineral springs were discovered in its palace park, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg (1781-1864) wished to create a private retreat there, which would include a bathhouse, an orangery, and a greenhouse. The naming of the garden with the feminine form of his name, Wilhelma, also stems from a directive of the founder. After extensive preliminary considerations, the king commissioned architect Karl Ludwig Zanth (1796-1857) to design the project in 1837. Construction began in 1842, the core area was completed in 1853, but it wasn't until the year of the king's death that the last buildings were finished in 1864 according to the plans of the architect who had passed away in 1857.