Gartenreich Dessau Wörlitz
In 2000, the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz was declared an UNESCO
World Heritage site. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee justified its
inscription as follows: »The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is an
outstanding example of the application of the philosophical principles
of the Age of the Enlightenment to the design of a landscape that
integrates art, education and economy in a harmonious whole.«
Das Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz ist mit seiner einmaligen Dichte von Denkmalen ein Ausdruck der aufgeklärten Denkweise des Dessauer Fürstenhofes. Die Landschaft wurde zum »Weltbild« ihrer Zeit.
The garden of Dessau Wörlitz is the first ‘English garden’ created in Germany.
It was conceived by Prince Franz (Leopold III), who rejected the ‘Prussian’ military tradition of his family to devote himself to the cultivation of his kingdom as a Gartenreich dedicated to the development of culture – a Gesammtkunstwerk – and also to the welfare of his people and the institution of advanced agricultural techniques and new industries.
His garden, open to the public, was an emblem intended to display his ideas, especially though the many garden buildings incorporated into the ‘natural’ landscape. In the display the prince sought to embody the highest ideals of the German Aufklärung.
Professor Emeritus Malcolm Kelsall has lectured at Dessau Wörlitz on the links between the garden there and the English landscape tradition. His special interest is the relationship between literature and its cultural contexts. His talk will compare images of Henry Hoare’s Garden at Stourhead, Wiltshire – a major source of inspiration for Franz – with the prince’s extraordinary development of his estate as a model of what a State should be.
Online presentation at Cheltenham German Club, 11th March 2022 at 19:30, Prof. Emeritus Malcolm Kelsall.
This talk will be in English.
Das Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz ist mit seiner einmaligen Dichte von Denkmalen ein Ausdruck der aufgeklärten Denkweise des Dessauer Fürstenhofes. Die Landschaft wurde zum »Weltbild« ihrer Zeit.
Das Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz ist in der zweiten Hälfte des 18.
Jahrhunderts an der mittleren Elbe und unteren Mulde entstanden.
Zwischen der Bauhausstadt Dessau und der Lutherstadt Wittenberg gelegen,
erstreckt es sich heute auf 142 Quadratkilometern. Es umfasst
wesentliche Gebiete des historischen Fürsten- bzw. Herzogtums
Anhalt-Dessau.
The garden of Dessau Wörlitz is the first ‘English garden’ created in Germany.
It was conceived by Prince Franz (Leopold III), who rejected the ‘Prussian’ military tradition of his family to devote himself to the cultivation of his kingdom as a Gartenreich dedicated to the development of culture – a Gesammtkunstwerk – and also to the welfare of his people and the institution of advanced agricultural techniques and new industries.
His garden, open to the public, was an emblem intended to display his ideas, especially though the many garden buildings incorporated into the ‘natural’ landscape. In the display the prince sought to embody the highest ideals of the German Aufklärung.
Professor Emeritus Malcolm Kelsall has lectured at Dessau Wörlitz on the links between the garden there and the English landscape tradition. His special interest is the relationship between literature and its cultural contexts. His talk will compare images of Henry Hoare’s Garden at Stourhead, Wiltshire – a major source of inspiration for Franz – with the prince’s extraordinary development of his estate as a model of what a State should be.
Online presentation at Cheltenham German Club, 11th March 2022 at 19:30, Prof. Emeritus Malcolm Kelsall.
This talk will be in English.