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Gardens of Dessau-Wörlitz Germany, Parks of Wörlitz, parks of Dessau - Indian Chief Travel
GERMANY  |  Anhalt-Wittenberg, Germany Travel Guide
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Gardens of Dessau-Wörlitz

The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz

The principality of Anhalt Dessau was fortunate to have had several able rulers. Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz (1740-1817), commonly known as Fürst Franz, was an enlightened and talented ruler who loved to combine the beautiful with the useful. Under his rule, the first and still the largest English-style landscape gardens on the European continent were laid out in the Dessau-Wörlitz area. He combined existing structures and parks and added new ones until the entire Gartenreich (Garden Kingdom) stretched over 25 km (14 miles) on the south bank of the Elbe.

Parks in Wörlitz

The oldest of the gardens is the Wörlitzer Anlagen, which occupies an area of 112 hectares (314 acres). It has canals and bridges, castles and temples, sculptures and grottos. The scenery changes frequently and almost 20 lines of sight have been identified that give the visitor unique and different perspectives. Two buildings inside the park are of particular note: both the Neo-Classical Schloss Wörlitz (Palace) and the Neo-Gothic Gotisches Haus (Gothic House) were the first two buildings of these styles in Germany. The Gothic House has a Venetian-church look facing the canals but a Gothic Tudor façade toward the garden.Water is an integral part of the park, and regular ferries transport visitors for a minimal charge across the lake and to islands. Longer gondola rides are also available. A large restaurant is located inside the kitchen buildings of the Schloss. The park is at northern edge of the town.

About six km (3.6 miles) south of Wörlitz on the B-185 is the park and palace of Oranienbaum (Orange Tree). The palace was built as a widow’s residence in the late 17th century in a Dutch Baroque style reflecting the tastes of the Dutch-born Princess Henriette Catharina von Nassau-Oranien. The existing palace was incorporated into the Garden Kingdom and Fürst Franz added English- Chinese elements including a pagoda, the only surviving one in Germany from that period. The present Orangerie, at 180 m (590 feet) one of the longest in Europe, was built in the early 19th-century and has again been used for citrus farming since 1989.

Parks in Dessau

Three more parks and palaces are located in and near Dessau. The largest, and second only to Wörlitz in size, is the Georgium. It was constructed by Prince George, brother of the ruling Prince Franz. The park starts just two blocks from the Bauhaus and stretches over 56 acres all the way to the River Elbe. The garden has several small classical structures and sculptures that blend in harmoniously with the surroundings. The Georgium Palace houses the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau (Anhalt Picture Gallery), Puschkinallee 100, with a fine collection of German painters from the 15th to 19th centuries and Dutch painters from the 15th to 17th centuries. It has single works by Pieter Breughel, Lucas Cranach, and Peter Paul Rubens. The gardens and palace are within easy walking distance from the station.

About 10 km (six miles) southwest of Dessau is Schloss Mosigkau, Knobelsdorffallee 3. This Rococo castle was built in 1757 from first drafts by the designers of Sanssouci in Potsdam for Princess Anna Wilhelmina, who never married. After her death, she donated the property to a monastery. It remains one of the best examples of Rococo in central Germany. Inside, the palace is richly furnished with original furniture, mirrors, porcelain, and vases, complementing the marble stuccowork. It also has a small but rich collection of paintings, including works by Peter Paul Rubens, Jordaens, and Van Dyck. The Orangerie has a collection of rare and, in some cases, centuries-old potted plants.

Four km (2.4 miles) east of Dessau is Schloss Luisium, built by Prince Franz for his wife Luise. The palace is small but attractive in a Neo-Classical style. The interior has stark clean lines with elegant ceiling and wall paintings as well as marble stuccos. Scattered through the park are mainly Greco-Roman structures and sculptures but also a small orangerie and a Chinese bridge. The park is best visited in the morning or around sunset when light conditions are optimal.

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Last updated November 4, 2011
Posted in   Germany  |  Anhalt-Wittenberg
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