The rule of Prince Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817) during the latter half of the 18th century witnessed the creation of the extensive English-style gardens - the largest and most significant cultural landscape on the European continent - at the confluence of the rivers Elba and Mulde some 80 kilometers southwest of Berlin. In an evocative combination of landscape and architecture, the expansive park is a unique encyclopedia of German and international intellectual life. Here, landscape gardening was employed in conjunction with stylistic forms of classical, late Gothic and oriental art and architecture for the first time in Europe in a quest for new forms of artistic expression in support of a system of thought closely bound to Enlightenment ideals. Alongside numerous illustrations and descriptive texts, this volume contains both a philosophical and an historical essay focusing upon Princess Luise von Anhalt-Dessau and her involvement with the garden kingdom of Prince Franz. In addition, the book presents a documentation of the historical exploration, preservation, restoration and reconstruction of the Dessau cultural landscape. (German edition available ISBN 3-7757-0714-X)
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