Nature Itself Was the Master Builder - Picturesque Parks and Gardens in Bavaria

A touch of Tuscany wafts over the garden terraces of Willibaldsburg Castle. Especially in the summer months, the bastion garden invites visitors to take a stroll. The "Hortus Eystettensis" was once the pride and joy of Prince-Bishop Johann Conrad von Gemmingen (1595-1612). Over a thousand different plant species from Europe, Africa, America and Asia grew here, many of which were difficult to cultivate in the harsh Bavarian climate. The Nuremberg pharmacist Basilius Besler was commissioned by the prince-bishop to record the garden's full splendour in a publication (external link, opens in a new window) of the same name with numerous copperplate engravings; with a page format of 54 x 45 centimetres and weighing 14 kilograms, it was a real tome that made the garden famous!

But nobody can say exactly what the famous garden once looked like. With the relocation of the prince-bishops' court to the newly built residence in the 18th century, the rare plants were increasingly forgotten. Today, a good 400 years later, the historical garden beauty shines in new splendour - the copperplate engravings of the "Hortus Eystettensis" served as inspiration for the reconstruction.

Bayreuth (external link, opens in a new window) is a true paradise for garden lovers: be it the park of the Eremitage (Hermitage), the court garden of the Neues Schloss (New Bayreuth Castle) or the gardens of Fantaisie Palace and Sanspareil, which are located just outside - each of the margravial gardens invites you to stroll past pavilions, rock grottos and water features! We owe a large part of the gardens to Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, who not only promoted the fine arts, but was also involved in the expansion of the Bayreuth palaces and their gardens. For the Sanspareil rock garden, for example, she had scenery from François Fénelon's novel "The Adventures of Teelemach" built in a beech grove with bizarre natural rock formations. In a letter to her brother Frederick the Great, Wilhelmine wrote about the rock garden: "Nature herself was the master builder." The original name Sanspareil also goes back to the French exclamation for "unequalled!".

It really is an art to create such parks and gardens - as a visit to the Gartenkunst-Museum Schloss Fantaisie (Garden Art Museum Schloss Fantaisie), which is dedicated entirely to this theme, shows: From garden design fashions to the gardener's profession, tools and various garden plants to the history of Fantaisie Castle and its park.

"Love the rose, but don't pick it." This quote from Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton could be the secret motto of the gardeners on the Rose Island . The countless historical rose varieties that thrive in the geometrically designed rosarium are tirelessly nurtured. Most of them are grown as tall stems so that the white, pink and purple flowers of varieties such as Cardinal Richelieu, Chapeau de Napoleon and Prince Noir can be seen at eye and nose level. Bright blue catmint billows in the summer breeze among the roses.

Today, the Rose Island is closely associated with the name of King Ludwig II, who made it his private retreat. Only a few hand-picked guests, including his cousin Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Richard Wagner, were allowed to visit. However, the island was discovered by Ludwig's father, King Maximilian II, who turned it into a private holiday home for the royal family. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the court, an intimate idyll was created here, where lilac bushes and roses - in the words of the lady-in-waiting Luise von Kobell - were already singing an "ethereal concert of scents". Today, fortunately, you don't have to be a member of the royal family or an invited guest to enjoy the splendour of the Rose Island. Part of the experience is also the crossing on a Zille - as the flat wooden boats are called in this region. They leave from the Glockensteg, which is located on the shore directly opposite the Rose Island

Directly opposite the Roseninsel is Feldafing Park (external link, opens in a new window), which offers wonderful views of Lake Starnberg and the mountains.

Schönbusch Palace Park, one of the first English landscape gardens in southern Germany, is a wild and romantic beauty. In contrast to the meticulously laid out ornamental beds of the Baroque garden design, the English garden is intended to look like a natural landscape. Gently curving paths, artificial lakes and hills between which you can stroll in the cool shade of the trees. Pleasant surprises are offered by small buildings such as the red bridge, the Philosopher's House or the Temple of Friendship, which have been embedded in charming landscapes. You can enjoy a marvellous view of the entire park from the observation tower, which is raised on one of the artificial hills.

Only the tough get into the garden! In this case, this applies not only to the many mountain flowers that thrive in the Wetterstein mountains at an altitude of 1,860 metres, but also to the visitors. The Alpine Garden can only be reached on foot, for example via the Königsweg (external link, opens in a new window) from Elmau (walking time approx. 3.5 hours). Delicate pink lilies from the Himalayas and South African Cape asters bloom here in close proximity to gentian, alpine edelweiss and pasqueflower. Especially in the summer months, many flowers are in bloom and make a visit particularly worthwhile.

Very close to the Alpine Garden, the royal house that Ludwig II had built as a personal retreat can hardly be overlooked. The fairytale king celebrated his birthday and name day here every year on 25 August. Incidentally, it had nothing to do with the Alpine Garden, which was only created many years after Ludwig's death as a branch of the Munich Botanical Gardens. But Ludwig would certainly have loved the delicate beauty of the alpine flowers.

Not a blade of grass grows in the wrong place in Schleißheim Palace Park; all the hedges and flowerbeds are meticulously trimmed. The symmetrically laid out beds, technically elaborate water features and dead straight lines of sight in the garden were intended to impressively demonstrate man's dominion over untamed nature, as well as the power and wealth of its owner. However, the palace park was not only intended to be used for representation. Elector Max Emanuel, who had the New Palace built and the garden laid out in the French style, had a penchant for parties, gondola rides, hunts, the game of mailles (a type of boccia) and other adventures. The luxurious park castles of Nymphenburg also go back to him. However, Schleißheim never became a new residence outside Munich, as Max Emanuel would have envisioned, and the planned large palace complex was never completed. The story was more fortunate in the case of the baroque garden, which, unlike many others, was never remodelled according to the new fashion of the English landscape garden and has thus been preserved almost unchanged. A very special gem indeed!

A shady spot with a marvellous view over Bamberg's old town - but it's not just its location that makes the rose garden of the Neue Residenz Bamberg (New Residence Bamberg) worth a visit. Although the residence was home to the prince-bishops for a long time, the roses were only added later. After the incorporation of the diocese into the Kingdom of Bavaria, Duchess Maria Anna in Bavaria (1753-1824) moved in here and had the former baroque garden transformed into a rose garden. Hundreds of roses in all colours still bloom here today.

Anna Blenninger