Wörlitzer Park in Saxony-Anhalt, founded in 1769-1773, was one of the first English landscape parks in Germany and is still one of the most extensive – the area exceeds one and a half hundred football fields.
This unique palace and park ensemble, created by Prince Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, 1740-1817), is perfectly preserved and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, like other sights of these places that are part of the Park Kingdom of Dessau – Wörlitz (Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz): the palaces Louisium, Georgium, Mosigkau, Groskünau and Oranienbaum.
Traveler and dreamer
Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau traveled a lot, dreamed of living in England, admired Italy, the culture of ancient Greece. During these trips, the prince collected ideas for his park, which became a kind of travel diary. “Why should I go on vacation?” – our boatman asks not without pride during the excursion and begins to list the countries … One lap in the park – half of Europe!
Wörlitz is home to the first Classicist palace in Germany and one of the first European examples of this style outside of England. From here, from the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau, neo-Gothic began to spread throughout the German lands – another fashion that came to continental Europe from Foggy Albion.
“Pure Charm”
This palace and park ensemble was admired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was here three times. An enthusiastic response from the poet from a private letter from Wörlitz on May 17, 1778 to Charlotte von Stein can be read in the Nymphaeum – one of the monuments dedicated to the culture of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The quote is carved on two stone slabs.
“It is infinitely beautiful here. Last night, when we leisurely admired the lakes, canals and cozy corners of the park, I was literally touched that the gods allowed the prince to realize his dreams here … One by one the views change, what a leisurely variety. Not a single hill slows down eyes, nothing binds him to one point. You slide without asking where you started and where you will end. … Everything here is pure charm. “
The sights of the park, according to the prince’s plan and in accordance with the spirit of the Enlightenment, were supposed to serve as visual aids. Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau sought to introduce his subjects to the beautiful, to arouse interest in the sciences and culture. Numerous collections were also intended for these purposes – from a unique collection of Swiss stained glass windows to two hundred wax models of various fruits.
Age of Enlightenment
The prince built schools, opened libraries, set up hospitals, taught his peasants progressive methods of agriculture, and he himself willingly acted as a farmer. Part of the territory in Wörlitz was used for economic purposes in order to finance the arrangement and maintenance of the park itself, without additionally burdening the subjects of the principality, which at that time had about 40 thousand people.
Free access to the park and the palace was open to all residents and guests, that is, not only to celebrities of the scale we have already mentioned Goethe or Alexander von Humboldt (Alexander von Humboldt). “Father Franz”, as he was called, often led tours himself, proudly showing the furnishings, paintings, vases, sculptures, frescoes…
Classical palace
The main attraction of this place is the Wörlitz Palace (Schloss Wörlitz). This new residence was founded here for a young couple – Prince Friedrich Franz and Princess Louise in 1769. The marriage with the daughter of the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt did not take place out of love. The decisive role was then played by the Prussian King Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große). The prince was known for his love of love. Later, the unofficial wife of Friedrich Franz was the daughter of the chief Wörlitz gardener and landscape architect, Luise Schoch. Later, they even moved to live under the same roof – in the Gothic House (Gotisches Haus) on the outskirts of the park, where they had three children.
Prometheus and Enlightenment
Paintings, sculptures, frescoes… The palace was decorated according to the latest fashion, glorifying the culture of ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, although there was also a place of honor for Chinese silks with porcelain. The furnishings are well preserved. Immediately after the completion of construction, the prince opened his palace to the public.
the library
In the princely library, the walls are decorated with portraits of thinkers, biblical characters, writers, scientists, and famous rulers. Under the large image of Moses are portraits of Frederick the Great and Peter I.
“Green Venice”
In the park, which seems to be a natural creation of nature, everything is thought out to the smallest detail. The ideal landscape is created by the artist’s hand – not with paints, in reality. Consists of several parts. It would take more than an hour to get around the park on foot if there were no stops. However, the best way to start your day in Wörlitz is with a walk along the lakes and canals. The pier is located right next to the main entrance, and the local boatmen are also excellent guides.
Synagogue
There are still few tourists in the early morning. Nymphs, goddesses, swans watch the first boats from the shores. The pond reflects the synagogue – another example of classicism and a symbol of the policy of religious tolerance pursued by the prince. The model for this project was an ancient temple in Rome, dedicated to the goddess Vesta. Under the synagogue there is a ritual bath – a mikvah. During the years of the “Third Reich”, the interior decoration was destroyed, but the then park keeper managed to defend the building itself, for which he lost his job.
Neo-Gothic
In addition to classicism, neo-gothic was another architectural passion of the prince. In this style, he ordered the construction of this brick greenhouse, ordered to design his villa for the main gardener – the same Gothic house that we will see later.
Bridges
Chinese, Chain, Sunny, Floating, Adjustable, Oak … There are more than a dozen bridges on the walking paths in the park. This one was erected in 1791 over St. George’s Canal, named as the strait between Ireland and Great Britain. It is a reduced copy of the world’s first cast-iron arch bridge, built in 1779 in England, and … the first cast-iron bridge in Germany!
Red gatehouse
The vast territory of Wörlitz Park is not surrounded by any fences. In some places, it smoothly passes into neighboring fields and water meadows. From the side of the Elbe, a protective dam was built – a shaft along which the prince laid a walking route that allows you to appreciate this picturesque landscape. On this earthen rampart is this Red Gatehouse (Rotes Wallwachhaus), built in 1772 according to the design of Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmansdorff. Now there are guest apartments that can be rented for relaxation in the middle of the World Heritage Site.
Young man pulling out a splinter
You will go along the path to the left – to the swan lake and the house from the Piedmontese village, to the right along the dam – to the young man pulling out a splinter, past the Pantheon … There are many classical sculptures in the park, they are waiting for visitors in the most unexpected places. We will still discover some – guided by a detailed plan of the park or by chance.
Pantheon and Egyptian mythology
The Wörlitz Pantheon was completed around 1795. An example for him was the famous building in Rome. The lower floor can be reached through the grotto. Inside, in addition to the symbolic representation of the Elbe in the form of a canopy, an Egyptian ritual vessel, there are reliefs of Anubis, Osiris and Horus, as well as a statue of Isis – examples of the earliest works created in Germany based on Egyptian mythology.
Hut
This romantic gazebo in one of the shady corners of the park was equipped in 1785. “Cork” or “Root House” (Borkenhäuschen, Wurzelhaus) – that’s what they call it. It is somewhat similar to a hut crouched down to rest on chicken legs.
The art of the eruption
Mediterranean in Germany! The stone island of Stein was built in Wörlitz from boulders in the middle of a large pond, then a villa was built on it, agaves and dates were planted. Nearby rises a real … artificial volcano – “Wörlitsky Vesuvius”.
New technologies
The prince brought ideas for Stein Island from a trip to Naples. After a long break, the demonstrative eruptions of the volcano resumed in 2005-2006, but in the summer of 2020, they decided to replace the real fire with lighting equipment, since shaking due to the use of pyrotechnics had a negative impact on the state of this historical building.
Goddesses
A statue of the goddess of flora and fauna Diana, bathing Venus… Walking in the park, you can study ancient mythology. Near Stein Island is the grotto of Egeria, a nymph with the gift of prophecy. A special place in the park is occupied by a golden urn…
In memory of the princess
It is located at the intersection of visual axes. The first axis offers a view of the belfry of the neo-Gothic church here – through the meadows and the free space between the trees. The second – to the synagogue through the canal, named after the Christian martyr Agnes. A golden urn was installed in the park in 1769 in memory of the princess, the dead daughter of the then young princely couple.
In an official marriage, the prince had a son-heir, but this union was concluded not out of love, but out of political calculations. Before the wedding, the prince was in a relationship with the pastor’s daughter and became a father three times. Later he entered into a morganatic marriage with the daughter of his chief gardener, as we have already mentioned. In this family, he had three more children. Plus four from two other ties…
Two Louises
Initially, the Gothic House was intended for the gardener Johann Schoch. Having entered into an unofficial marriage with the daughter of Johann Schoch, Louise, the prince moved here from the palace, which was already open to all visitors at that time and more like a museum. In turn, Princess Louise, back in 1790, moved to the Gray House – a secluded mansion near the church, which she nicknamed the “Gray Monastery”.
gothic house
The peculiarity of the Gothic house consists in two completely different facades. The first, overlooking a spacious lawn, is made of red brick in the style of the English estate of Strawberry Hill. The second from the side of the Wolf Canal and the Temple of Flora, which was visible in the previous photo through the window, resembles the Venetian church of the Madonna dell’Orto.
English style
The Gothic house is one of the earliest and best preserved examples of Neo-Gothic architecture on the European continent. Its construction began in 1773. Until 1813, it expanded several times. Its halls and rooms are reminiscent of the atmosphere of medieval knights’ castles. Open for visits as part of excursions. In addition to the collection of Swiss stained glass windows that adorn its windows, there are many other exhibits of princely collections and collections.
To the cries of birds
You can find the Gothic House in the huge Wörlitz park without a map and signs, following the cries of peacocks – piercing, audible from afar. They walk here not only on the lawns, but also to the great delight of the public, waving their wide wings, fly up to the roof along a well-established route – first to the well, then to the extension at the entrance…