Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom

Built in the 18th century, the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom is one of the finest examples of European garden architecture and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in November 2000. In the mid-18th century, while some of the former geometric gardens on the European continent were being transformed into landscape gardens, some newly built gardens directly adopted the style of natural landscape gardens. One of the earlier examples is the Wörlitz Garden near Dessau (Germany). It no longer simply imitated English gardens but developed both conceptually and formally.

In 1763 and 1766, Prince Franz of Dessau made two trips to England with his architect F.W. von Erdmannsdorff and garden designer J.F. Eyserbeck to study landscape gardens and historical buildings. Later, they also traveled to Italy to learn about Renaissance architecture. Upon returning home, they began constructing the summer palace Wörlitz Garden in 1769. Influenced by both English and Italian gardens and architecture, Wörlitz became an outstanding work that combined nature and art. Covering an area of 110 hectares and situated in a depression along the Elbe River, Wörlitz Garden features a valley-style landscape, centered around the elongated Wörlitz Lake, which divides the entire garden into several scenic sections through its water surfaces. The garden includes Gothic-style small structures, a Chinese bridge, an artificial volcano, and more. The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom immediately became an exceptional garden upon completion, attracting numerous notable figures. Wörlitz Garden has been described as “the noblest garden in Germany and the first natural-style garden worthy of attention.”

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz

Must-visit reason: Germany’s noblest garden

Continent where the attraction is located: Europe【Europe】

Country/region where the attraction is located: Germany[Germany]

Province/state where the attraction is located: Saxony-Anhalt [Sachsen-Anhalt]