Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm
Encyclopedia
The Dessau
-Wörlitz
Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English park
s in Germany
and continental Europe
. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau
(1740-1817), returning from a Grand Tour
to Italy, the Netherlands, England, France and Switzerland he had undertaken together with his friend architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff. Both strongly influenced by the ideals of The Enlightenment
, they aimed to overcome the formal garden concept of the Baroque
era in favour of a naturalistic landscape as they had seen at Stourhead
Gardens and Ermenonville
. Today the cultural landscape
of Dessau-Wörlitz encompasses an area of 142 km² (54.8 sq mi) within the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
.
to the Dutch princess Henriette Catharina, daughter of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange
, in 1659 brought a team of engineers and architects from the Low Countries
under the supervision of architect Cornelis Ryckwaert to lay out the town, the palace and a Baroque garden in the former settlement of Nischwitz, which was renamed Oranienbaum
in 1673. The Dutch influence remained prevalent in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
for many decades.
Oranienbaum Palace was finished in 1683 as the summer residence of Henriette Catharina, where she retired after the death of her husband in 1693. The rich furnishing includes leather wallpapers and a dining room equipped with Delft tiles
. From 1780 on Duke Leopold III had the palace and the park rebuilt in a Chinese style
, according to the theories of Sir William Chambers, with several arch bridge
s, a tea house
and a pagoda
. In 1811, the orangery
was built, with 175 m (574.1 ft) in length one of the largest in Europe, which still serves to protect a wide collection of citrus
plants. Oranienbaum Palace together with the park and the geometrical settlement conception forms one of the few original Dutch Baroque town layouts in Germany. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
, Princess of Orange-Nassau
, inspected the restoration works on March 3, 2004.
The central Wörlitzer Park lies adjacent to the small town of Wörlitz
at an anabranch of the Elbe
river, making it rich in water and diversity. It was laid out between 1769 and 1773 as one of the first English garden
s on the continent. According to the ideals of Duke Leopold III the park would also serve as an educational institution in architecture, gardening and agriculture, therefore large parts were open to the public from the beginning. Most buildings were designed by Erdmannsdorff, while the gardens were laid out by Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck (1734-1818), a garden architect who was indebted to such British antecedents as Claremont
, Stourhead and Stowe Landscape Garden
. The gardens are protected from floods of the Elbe river in the north by a dam which is also a belt-walk offering numerous views along the park's sight lines.
Wörlitz Palace finished in 1773, residence of Duke Leopold and his wife Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
, was the first Neoclassical
building in present-day Germany. The palace and its interior with valuable cabinets from the studio of Abraham
and David Roentgen as well as a large collection of Wedgwood
porcelain were publicly accessible. Louise had her private home in the adjacent Graues Haus (Grey House). At the eastern rim of the palace's garden stands the Wörlitz Synagogue
built in 1790 as a rotunda modelled after the ancient "Temple of Vesta
in Tivoli, Italy
. The building expressing Leopold's religious tolerance was saved from demolition in the 1938 "Kristallnacht
" pogrom by the custodian of the park, who thereupon lost his employment. The Neo-Gothic
St Peter's Church in the west with its 66 m (216.5 ft) tall steeple was finished in 1809.
The philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
and the aesthetic of Johann Joachim Winckelmann
underlie the design of the park. Rousseau saw in agriculture the basis of everyday life and pointed out to educational functions of the natural landscape. Unsurprisingly, the most elegant landscape in the area is Rousseau Island in Neumark's Garden, scored to imitate the island at Ermenonville Park where the philosopher was buried.
Wörlitz Lake featured an island atop which was a model of Mount Vesuvius
. The duke would stage fireworks that seemed to issue from an erupting volcano to entertain his guests. At the foot of the mountain on the island was a building intended to suggest William Hamilton
's home at Pompeii
, where he did his famous archaeological work.
Minor structures of the Garden Realm, stretching for some 25 km, had far-reaching ramifications in architecture of Central Europe. The "Gothic House", started by Erdmannsdorff in 1774, modelled on the villa of Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill
, was one of the first Neo Gothic structures on the continent. The park also features replicas of Roman temple
s, including the Pantheon
built in 1795. In the early years of the following century, the landscape was enriched with the Neo Gothic churches in the neighbouring villages of Riesigk
(1800) and Vockerode
(1811).
The grounds, which had been divided into four parts since the constructions of a railway line and the Bundesautobahn 9 in the 1930s, were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. ICOMOS, however, noted that "the overall structure of the landscape has undergone a good deal of deterioration" . Currently, a major road passes only meters away from Rousseau Island.
Further structures of the Garden Realm include Luisium Castle, located in the Waldersee district of Dessau
, was a gift from Duke Leopold III to his wife Louise. It was built from 1774 in a plain Neoclassical
style as a country home according to plans by Erdmannsdorff with adjacent gardens, pastures and a stud farm
. Leopold died at the castle on August 9, 1817 from the consequences of a riding accident.
John George (1748-1811), a younger brother of Duke Leopold III, had the Georgium Castle erected from 1780 by Erdmannsdorff. Located in a riparian
woodland north of Dessau, the palace features an English garden with several monuments. Today the Georgium hosts the Anhalt
collection of art, including works by Albrecht Dürer
- especially an old master print
of his Melencolia I
- and Lucas Cranach the Elder
.
Mosigkau Castle in the west of Dessau is one of the few Rococo
palaces in Central Germany, resembling Sanssouci
at Potsdam
, which had been designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
. It was built between 1752 and 1757 for Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau
, the daughter of Prince Leopold I
. The ensemble includes an orangery
and an art collection of Flemish Baroque painting
, stemming from Duke John George's II union with the House of Orange-Nassau
, that features works by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
.
Großkühnau Castle marks the western end of the Garden Realm. It was built in 1780 for Albert of Anhalt-Dessau, a younger brother of Duke Leopold III, at Kühnau Lake. The park includes several artificial islands, fruit tree orchards and a vineyard. Today the castle is the seat of the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, the trust running the park. Furthermore the Garden Realm encompasses the Leiner Berg forester's lodge, built in 1830, now a restaurant near the Elbe Cycle Route
, and the Sieglitzer Berg forest park laid out in 1777.
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
-Wörlitz
Wörlitz
' is a town and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, east of Dessau...
Garden Realm, also known as the English Grounds of Wörlitz, is one of the first and largest English park
English Park
English Park is a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Canterbury United. The stadium has a capacity of 9,000 people....
s in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau
Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau
Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau , known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania...
(1740-1817), returning from a Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
to Italy, the Netherlands, England, France and Switzerland he had undertaken together with his friend architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff. Both strongly influenced by the ideals of The Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, they aimed to overcome the formal garden concept of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
era in favour of a naturalistic landscape as they had seen at Stourhead
Stourhead
Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
Gardens and Ermenonville
Ermenonville
Ermenonville is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.Ermenonville is notable for its park named for Jean-Jacques Rousseau by René Louis de Girardin...
. Today the cultural landscape
Cultural landscape
Cultural Landscapes have been defined by the World Heritage Committee as distinct geographical areas or properties uniquely "..represent[ing] the combined work of nature and of man.."....
of Dessau-Wörlitz encompasses an area of 142 km² (54.8 sq mi) within the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
.
Oranienbaum
The Gardens had its origin in the 17th century, when the marriage of Leopold's great-grandfather Prince John George II of Anhalt-DessauJohn George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau...
to the Dutch princess Henriette Catharina, daughter of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch , was the sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647.-Early life:...
, in 1659 brought a team of engineers and architects from the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
under the supervision of architect Cornelis Ryckwaert to lay out the town, the palace and a Baroque garden in the former settlement of Nischwitz, which was renamed Oranienbaum
Oranienbaum, Germany
' is a former town and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz...
in 1673. The Dutch influence remained prevalent in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau
Anhalt-Dessau
Anhalt-Dessau was a principality and later a duchy located in Germany. It was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. The capital of the state was Dessau. Anhalt-Dessau experienced a number of partitions throughout its existence with Anhalt-Köthen being...
for many decades.
Oranienbaum Palace was finished in 1683 as the summer residence of Henriette Catharina, where she retired after the death of her husband in 1693. The rich furnishing includes leather wallpapers and a dining room equipped with Delft tiles
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....
. From 1780 on Duke Leopold III had the palace and the park rebuilt in a Chinese style
Chinese garden
The Chinese garden, also known as a Chinese classical garden, is a style of landscape garden which has evolved for more than three thousand years, and which is inspired by Chinese literature, Chinese painting and Chinese philosophy...
, according to the theories of Sir William Chambers, with several arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
s, a tea house
Tea house
A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room."-Asia:In Central Asia this term...
and a pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
. In 1811, the orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
was built, with 175 m (574.1 ft) in length one of the largest in Europe, which still serves to protect a wide collection of citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
plants. Oranienbaum Palace together with the park and the geometrical settlement conception forms one of the few original Dutch Baroque town layouts in Germany. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
, Princess of Orange-Nassau
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...
, inspected the restoration works on March 3, 2004.
Wörlitzer Park
Wörlitz
' is a town and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, east of Dessau...
at an anabranch of the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river, making it rich in water and diversity. It was laid out between 1769 and 1773 as one of the first English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
s on the continent. According to the ideals of Duke Leopold III the park would also serve as an educational institution in architecture, gardening and agriculture, therefore large parts were open to the public from the beginning. Most buildings were designed by Erdmannsdorff, while the gardens were laid out by Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck (1734-1818), a garden architect who was indebted to such British antecedents as Claremont
Claremont Landscape Garden
Claremont Landscape Garden, just outside Esher, Surrey, England, is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind of landscape design, the English Landscape Garden — still featuring its original 18th century layout...
, Stourhead and Stowe Landscape Garden
Stowe House
Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens , a significant example of the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust...
. The gardens are protected from floods of the Elbe river in the north by a dam which is also a belt-walk offering numerous views along the park's sight lines.
Wörlitz Palace finished in 1773, residence of Duke Leopold and his wife Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Brandenburg-Schwedt
Brandenburg-Schwedt was a cadet line of the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg-Prussia who administered territories in the north of the Margraviate of Brandenburg...
, was the first Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
building in present-day Germany. The palace and its interior with valuable cabinets from the studio of Abraham
Abraham Roentgen
Abraham Roentgen was a German Ébéniste .Roentgen was born in Mülheim am Rhein, Germany. He learned cabinet making from his father. At age 20, he traveled to Den Haag, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, learning from established cabinet makers.He became known for his marquetry work, and worked in London...
and David Roentgen as well as a large collection of Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
porcelain were publicly accessible. Louise had her private home in the adjacent Graues Haus (Grey House). At the eastern rim of the palace's garden stands the Wörlitz Synagogue
Wörlitz Synagogue
The Wörlitz Synagogue is a synagogue built in 1790 by order of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau. It is located within the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000....
built in 1790 as a rotunda modelled after the ancient "Temple of Vesta
Temple of Vesta, Tivoli
The "Temple of Vesta" is a Roman temple in Tivoli, Italy, dating to the early 1st century BC. Its ruins sit on the acropolis of the city, overlooking the falls of the Aniene that are now included in the Villa Gregoriana....
in Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
. The building expressing Leopold's religious tolerance was saved from demolition in the 1938 "Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
" pogrom by the custodian of the park, who thereupon lost his employment. The Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
St Peter's Church in the west with its 66 m (216.5 ft) tall steeple was finished in 1809.
The philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and the aesthetic of Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...
underlie the design of the park. Rousseau saw in agriculture the basis of everyday life and pointed out to educational functions of the natural landscape. Unsurprisingly, the most elegant landscape in the area is Rousseau Island in Neumark's Garden, scored to imitate the island at Ermenonville Park where the philosopher was buried.
Wörlitz Lake featured an island atop which was a model of Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
. The duke would stage fireworks that seemed to issue from an erupting volcano to entertain his guests. At the foot of the mountain on the island was a building intended to suggest William Hamilton
William Hamilton (diplomat)
Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
's home at Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, where he did his famous archaeological work.
Minor structures of the Garden Realm, stretching for some 25 km, had far-reaching ramifications in architecture of Central Europe. The "Gothic House", started by Erdmannsdorff in 1774, modelled on the villa of Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill
Strawberry Hill House
Strawberry Hill is the Gothic Revival villa of Horace Walpole which he built in the second half of the 18th century in what is now an affluent area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Twickenham, London...
, was one of the first Neo Gothic structures on the continent. The park also features replicas of Roman temple
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion. The main room housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was...
s, including the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
built in 1795. In the early years of the following century, the landscape was enriched with the Neo Gothic churches in the neighbouring villages of Riesigk
Riesigk
Riesigk is a village and a former municipality in Germany not far from the town of Wittenberg in the district of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, on the south side of the Elbe river. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz...
(1800) and Vockerode
Vockerode
Vockerode is a village and a former municipality in the district of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Oranienbaum-Wörlitz. At Vockerode, there was a large coal fired power plant, the Vockerode Power Plant. On the area of this power plant was the static...
(1811).
The grounds, which had been divided into four parts since the constructions of a railway line and the Bundesautobahn 9 in the 1930s, were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. ICOMOS, however, noted that "the overall structure of the landscape has undergone a good deal of deterioration" . Currently, a major road passes only meters away from Rousseau Island.
Other
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
, was a gift from Duke Leopold III to his wife Louise. It was built from 1774 in a plain Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style as a country home according to plans by Erdmannsdorff with adjacent gardens, pastures and a stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
. Leopold died at the castle on August 9, 1817 from the consequences of a riding accident.
John George (1748-1811), a younger brother of Duke Leopold III, had the Georgium Castle erected from 1780 by Erdmannsdorff. Located in a riparian
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
woodland north of Dessau, the palace features an English garden with several monuments. Today the Georgium hosts the Anhalt
Anhalt
Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...
collection of art, including works by Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
- especially an old master print
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are...
of his Melencolia I
Melencolia I
Melencolia I is a 1514 engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. It is an allegorical composition which has been the subject of many interpretations...
- and Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
.
Mosigkau Castle in the west of Dessau is one of the few Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
palaces in Central Germany, resembling Sanssouci
Sanssouci
Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
at Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, which had been designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was a painter and architect in Prussia.Knobelsdorff was born in Kuckädel, now in Krosno Odrzańskie County. A soldier in the service of Prussia, he resigned his commission in 1729 as captain so that he could pursue his interest in architecture...
. It was built between 1752 and 1757 for Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau
Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau
Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau , was a German princess of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Dessau branch....
, the daughter of Prince Leopold I
Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was also a Generalfeldmarschall in the Prussian army...
. The ensemble includes an orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
and an art collection of Flemish Baroque painting
Flemish Baroque painting
Flemish Baroque painting is the art produced in the Southern Netherlands between about 1585, when the Dutch Republic was split from the Habsburg Spain regions to the south by the recapturing of Antwerp by the Spanish, until about 1700, when Habsburg authority ended with the death of King Charles II...
, stemming from Duke John George's II union with the House of Orange-Nassau
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...
, that features works by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
.
Großkühnau Castle marks the western end of the Garden Realm. It was built in 1780 for Albert of Anhalt-Dessau, a younger brother of Duke Leopold III, at Kühnau Lake. The park includes several artificial islands, fruit tree orchards and a vineyard. Today the castle is the seat of the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, the trust running the park. Furthermore the Garden Realm encompasses the Leiner Berg forester's lodge, built in 1830, now a restaurant near the Elbe Cycle Route
Elbe Cycle Route
The Elbe Cycle Route is part of an international network of cycling routes all over Europe. It is integrated in the system of currently 37 river cycling routes in Germany and by far the most popular route for cyclists in this country.The Elbe Cycle Route starts in Prague on the Vltava, which joins...
, and the Sieglitzer Berg forest park laid out in 1777.