The Royal Gardens at Herrenhausen are among the finest in Europe. Electress Sophie von Hannover was the mastermind behind these splendid gardens. She had the country estate and summer retreat of Herrenhausen laid out in the beautiful baroque style favoured by the House of Orange.
Hannover
in Lower Saxony is home to one of Europe's most beautiful parks –
Electress Sophie of Hannover's Royal Gardens at Herrenhausen. Work on
the Great Garden, the baroque centrepiece, began in 1666. It was laid
out in its present form under Electress Sophie of Hannover between 1696
and 1714. The ornamental box trees in the parterre and 30,000 summer
flowers present a picture of neat, ordered nature. Snow-white sandstone
sculptures add gravitas to the plantings: a club-swinging Hercules
guards the central axis while Venus and a cherub keep an eye on
proceedings. The baroque garden boasts many other rarities and
superlatives, including the grand cascade from around 1670 – one of the
gardens' oldest surviving structures – and the tallest garden fountain
in Europe at 82 metres. The garden is also home to Germany's first
garden theatre. With its gilded figures, this is as spectacular a
setting today as it was in Electress Sophie's day. The Berggarten has
prairie and fenland areas, glasshouses with orchids, a rainforest,
cacti, a tropical conservatory and rare old trees such as a cucumber
magnolia from 1794. Another highlight is the grotto from 1676 in the
north-west of the Great Garden. Its restoration for EXPO 2000 gave it a
second lease of life, and it was redesigned by the artist Niki de
Saint-Phalle between 2001 and 2003. The orangery from 1720 and the
Wilhelm Busch Museum with its collection of 2,000 drawings are also
worth a visit. Other destinations for days out in the region include the
magnificent Guelph palace, now the main building for Hannover University, Hannover Zoo and St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985.
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