Mirabell Gardens
The Mirabell Gardens are the gardens of the Mirabell Palace in the city of Salzburg in Austria , in the right old town . It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the city. Belong to him
- the large garden ground floor with the adjacent linden grove to the south
- the Small parterre with the southern neighbor Boskett
- the theater garden (hedge theater)
- the dwarf garden
- the bastion garden (water bastion )
- the orangery and the rose garden (formerly the small and large orangery)
as well as some marginal parts now built in. In the north of the Mirabell Gardens, instead of the demolished St. Vitalis bulwark, the old town fortifications are adjacent to the spa gardens .
The entire complex with all outbuildings and horticultural monuments is under monument protection and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Center of the City of Salzburg .
history
The redesign of the Mirabell Gardens took place in its current form on behalf of Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun from 1687, with the architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in charge of the overall design of the work. The complex was partially changed in small parts by Matthias Diesel before 1720 and in larger parts after 1730 by the architect and court garden inspector Franz Anton Danreiter. The baroque sculptures were essentially always preserved (with the exception of the Zwergelgarten). Changes were also made to the design of the garden ornaments. Partly changed, the Sala terrena was also redesigned several times, the layout and shape of the orangery were also changed. In times of need, the garden was used for a short time to grow vegetables.
Large garden ground floor with linden grove
The marble balustrades around the large garden ground floor with their artistic vases were designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach . The arrangement of the balustrades and statues was changed in detail by Anton Danreiter after 1730. The arrangement of the statues, which was later slightly changed, was also based on plans by Fischer von Erlach.
Four elements
Around the central fountain basin of the large garden parterre ("Great Fountain") south of the palace, four pairs of figures, created around 1690 by Ottavio Mosto , are grouped on high plinths at the original location . They primarily symbolize the four elements water, fire, air and earth. The symbolism is also easy to recognize on the basis of the base design. The statues vary the theme of a person wearing a second to save, rob, kidnap or defeat him. The further symbolism of the statues is deliberately complex. The sculptures - viewed from east to west according to the course of the day - are:
- Paris steals Helen , who is in love with him, from Sparta across the sea to Troy, which sparked the Trojan War ;
- At the bitter end of the Ten Years' Trojan War, Aeneas saves his father Anchises and his son Ascanius from burning Troy ;
- Hercules defeats the earthly demigod Anthaeus , who, lifted up, ran out of invincible powers that came from the earth.
- Hades kidnaps Persephone into the underworld;
As a further interpretation in the sense of a consciously multi-layered symbolism, the groups of figures can also be added to the four seasons.
Paris robs Helena (water)
Aeneas saves Anchises (fire)
Hercules wrestles with Anthaeus (air)
Hades kidnaps Persephone (earth)
Like the other baroque sculptures in the Mirabell Gardens, the antique statues standing on the balustrades in the linden grove were also created in 1689–1695. They represent eight ancient male and eight female deities: at the same time, in this secular garden, among the eight male and eight female gods, four gods are hidden as symbols of the four seasons and thus - together with the garden gnomes - as a symbol of the transience of not only garden flowers but also of life. The symbolism of the statues is also complex and should encourage contemplative reflection.
Eight ancient gods
The symbol of spring is Apollo with the laurel in the east and Mercury with a winged helmet and staff as the symbol of summer . Mighty gods follow to protect the garden at the southern entrance to the garden; Vulcanus with his anvil and Hercules with his club and the skin of the Nemean lion. Hercules also stands for the Herculan tasks of Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf Thun. To the west of the access path, Mars in full armor and Jupiter with crown and eagle follow as powerful garden protectors . As Herbstallegorie: in the west close to sunset again symbols of the seasons at Bacchus with grape and thyrsus , which is also available for parties and pleasures as a sign of winter (?) Saturnus , one of his children devouring. The male figures come from Bartholomäus van Opstal (Bacchus, Jupiter, Hermes, Mercury) and Johannes Frölich (Apollo).
Apollo (sun)
Mercury (summer)
Volcano
Hercules
Mars (spring)
Jupiter
Bacchus (autumn)
Saturn (winter)
Eight ancient goddesses
The eight ancient goddesses look back towards the garden from east to west: Diana with a crescent moon in her hair and accompanied by a faithful dog, who probably stands for the hunting joys of the otherwise modest way of life of Archbishop Johann Ernst Thun, and Flora , with a variety of flowers represents a visible sign of spring. Minerva with a shield and Medusa head should not be missing among the goddesses as the goddess of wisdom and the arts. With its grain yolk, Ceres unmistakably represents summer. To the west of the access path follows Pomona, which represents autumn with its abundance of fruits. Naked Venus holding a winged little Cupid by the hand is a sign of worldly beauties and love. Vesta , clad in thick fur, represents winter with a fire pot, Juno , wife of Jupiter with a bunch of grapes and a peacock, represents persistence. The female figures come from Gregor Götzinger, possibly the four seasons also come from Ottavio Mosto.
Diana - Hunt (Moon)
Flora (spring)
Minerva - wisdom
Ceres (summer)
Pomona (autumn)
Venus (planet) and Cupid
Hestia (winter)
Juno - marriage and immortality
The copies of the famous antique sculpture of the " Borghesi fencer " - displayed here as additional symbolic guardians of the garden - are attributed to the outer, artistically more valuable pair, Bernhard Michael Mandl , the inner pair, clearly designed as "brave", comes from Andreas Götzinger. The coat of arms of Salzburg Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun can be found on both pedestals . Apollo was created by Johann Fröhlich, Bacchus, Jupiter, Hercules and Mercury by Bartholomäus von Opstal, the others are attributed to Bernhard Michael Mandl.
In total, Fischer von Erlach has planned 28 statues of gods and heroes in the Mirabell Gardens (as a cheerful counterpart there are also 28 dwarfs in the Zwergelgarten). The now lost little tritons and other small figures are not taken into account. Erlach thus follows a baroque design idea that was also implemented in the French Versailles. Of the original 14 "water pieces" (ie fountains) in the Mirabell Gardens (7 of them in the large and small garden ground floor), only 3 have survived today. The number 28 is closely interwoven with the modern number mysticism (28 = the "sacred" number 7 × 4).
The two lions and the unicorns next to the Pegasus fountain most likely come from the palace gardens of Kleßheim Palace and are probably also made by Bernhard Michael Mandl . Archbishop Leopold Anton von Firmian has exchanged these figures, Ernst von Thun's heraldic animals in Kleßheim, for his own heraldic animals, yesterday's deer.
In 1854, the Mirabell Gardens were opened to the public by Emperor Franz Joseph and are still presented today as a garden architectural gem. The staircase from Mirabellgarten to the spa garden was designed by Franz Drobny in 1894 instead of the Sala terrana (which was demolished before 1818). The Mirabell Gardens became a special attraction of the city of Salzburg in the second half of the 19th century up to the First World War. Even today the garden is visited by countless tourists.
Small garden ground floor with Pegasus fountain
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The fountain is best known as a photo opportunity for wedding couples. The Innsbruck-based metal caster Kaspar Gras, an “Archduke Austrian poser”, who also designed the monument to Archduke Leopold in Innsbruck, produced the work in 1661 on behalf of Archbishop Guidobald von Thun for a horse pond on Kapitelplatz . The associated water basin once served the practical purpose of being able to wash and water horses. The winged steed stayed on Kapitelplatz until around 1700, then the Pegasus sculpture moved to the old horse pond on Mirabellplatz. At that time, this square was bordered in the west by the baroque facade of the castle, opposite a neat barracks, the "Neue Türnitz" with its elongated horse stables, and in the north and south by mighty arches. By upgrading the horse pond there, the younger half-brother of Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun wanted to make the surroundings of his summer residence Mirabell more artistic. In 1732, this horse pond was redesigned and enlarged by Franz Anton Danreiter , whereby the Pegasus remained in its place. The two unicorns and the two lions (probably from Kleßheim Castle), which can be seen today near the Pegasus Fountain in the Mirabell Gardens, were added.
After the great fire in Neustadt in 1818, which not only destroyed the tower above the main facade of the castle, but also many houses on the right bank of the Salzach, the horse pond with the Pegasus had to give way again. The bronze sculpture was temporarily stored, but it was soon forgotten. In 1836 they almost wanted to auction them because their artistic value and historical significance were not recognized.
In 1842 the winged horse was given a new location on what was then "Hannibalplatz", today's Makartplatz . As early as 1859, however, the figure was returned to the depot of the newly founded municipal museum “Carolino Augusteum” ( Salzburg Museum ). It was not until 1913 that the old horse sculpture was remembered and Pegasus was now placed on the rock bridge made of conglomerate stones in the middle of an old round fountain basin in the Mirabell Gardens. Here the Pegasus statue blends in well with its surroundings with the other statues and sculptures.
The sculpture shows Pegasus at the moment when he gracefully rises into the air. The well under the horse becomes the Hippokrene spring and the small rock becomes the Helikon mountain . This source already received an important Christian reference on Kapitelplatz, as Pegasus looked at the cross on the nearby cathedral dome. When Guidobald von Thun was promoted to cardinal, a well-known engraving was made on behalf of the prince, showing the horn of the heraldic animals of Thun, in which the water from the "Helikon spring" at Kapitelplatz is collected, around the beam in an open globe to manage and that honors the archbishop as the builder. This was also intended to represent the charity and active piety of the archbishop on earth. Even at today's stand, the sculpture of Pegasus looks out over the old town and the cathedral.
The western part of the garden was probably laid out by Fischer von Erlach based on distant French models. It is well documented by the plans drawn up by the well-known garden architect Matthias Diesel in 1715 and those by Franz Anton Danreiter . The hedge theater and the bosquet were designed much more elaborately than they are today. The hedge theater is one of the oldest natural theaters in Europe and, together with the almost equally old Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, the oldest hedge theater in the German-speaking area.
On the old bastion wall west of the castle, next to the small garden ground floor, is the bird house (partly redesigned around 1730) with a dome-shaped former aviary on the roof. The large ornate aviaries in the south of the bird house no longer exist. Once upon a time, not only various songbirds and large birds of prey were kept in the aviary, but also some other wild animals in tiny cages. Their captivity did not end until 1940.
Bosket
The typical baroque bosquet (from French le bosquet = “wood”, “wood”) was an artistically cut “wood” in the baroque Mirabell garden of the fisherman von Erlachs. Here, too, the bosket followed the typical arrangement of baroque palace gardens to the side of the garden ground floor. The trees and hedges were traversed by a straight axis with hall-like widenings and were bordered by high, extremely artistically cut hedges. The bosket thus forms a counterpart to the castle building with its corridors, stairs and halls and was also used in a similar way to the interior of the castle: It was used for performances of small chamber concerts or other small amusements. Originally, the (western) bosket of Mirabell Palace had five small halls and a hall to the hedge theater. The hedge halls each had a small fountain in the middle, the southernmost fountain was designed as a fountain. Today the western bosket consists of a three-row "avenue" of winter linden trees, which are regularly cut into a geometric cube shape, as well as an arcade with a round arch trellis. The eastern bosket on the Mirabellplatz side right next to the small orangery no longer exists today.
In addition to the large fountain and the Pegasus fountain, there are less well-known fountains in the bosquet: the Susanna fountain, which most likely came from Hans Waldburger and was created after 1610. He moved to the Mirabell Gardens in the late 19th century.
Orangery and rose garden
The orangery in the south of the castle with the palm house next to the large garden parterre was built in its current form around 1725. Originally, this garden was primarily used to grow orange trees and other exotic ornamental trees, which were brought into the greenhouse in the pre-winter to survive the winter frost-free . In the Baroque period, orange trees were considered a metaphor for princely virtue, the orange fruits of this citrus tree were equated with the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides . An orangery could not be missing in the princely baroque garden Mirabell.
The orangery in the east of the water parterre was still used for other purposes in the 20th century after the Second World War and only became an orangery again after 1980. Danreiter's old plans were revived. The southern building of the orangery was used as a baroque museum until around 2012, the northern building still serves as a glass house.
In the center of the orangery garden is the papagena fountain with a papagena figure by Josef Magnus (1984).
The rose garden, laid out in the baroque period as the “large bitter orange garden”, was revived as an ornamental garden around 1955. Previously, it was used to grow vegetables in the post-war years. This garden with its ornamental rose beds is located immediately south of Mirabell Palace. It is bordered by a lattice fence and 17 ornate marble vases - once for citrus trees - which were created according to Fischer von Erlach's designs.
"Zwergelgarten"
The Salzburg Zwergelgarten was designed in 1690/91 as part of the baroque redesign of the Mirabell Gardens by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach on behalf of Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf Thun. The dwarf garden originally comprised 28 dwarfs made of white Untersberg marble . They form a counterpart to the 28 marble statues on the large garden ground floor and in the linden grove. The dwarfs were probably created under an artist collective under the direction of Ottavio Mosto and Bernhard Michael Mandl , in which Sebastian Stumpfegger and Hans Schwäbl also worked. As far as is known, it is the oldest dwarf garden in Europe. At many European royal courts in the Baroque period, people of short stature were part of the court, who were highly valued for their loyalty and loyalty. In Salzburg, under Johann Ernst Graf Thun and Anton Graf Harrach, Franz von Meichelböck (1695–1746) was a widely respected court dwarf. The restoration of the once magnificent dwarf garden at its original location is planned in the medium term.
the old dwarf garden - little red squares are dwarf locations
Dwarf formation before 2018 in the Bastion Garden
Dwarf with the apron
Dwarf with a straw pocket hat
Dwarf with a straw pocket hat
Dwarf with the spade
Dwarf with the radish pouch
Dwarf with the turban
Dwarf with the graveyard
Dwarf with the chicken
Dwarf with the cam pot
Dwarf with the wooden leg
Dwarf with the garden vase
Dwarf with the onion bunch
Dwarf with a pince-nez
Dwarf with the spiked sleeve
Dwarf with the ball
During the Enlightenment, the marble figures of misshapen people in the Mirabell Gardens fell into disrepute. The Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig I also disliked the marble dwarfs displayed here during the brief Bavarian reign over Salzburg. He had them auctioned in 1811, the proceeds remained extremely modest.
The dwarves were then forgotten for more than a hundred years. Only in 1919 did the Salzburg Beautification Association, today's city association, remember this piece of Salzburg's cultural history. In October 1919, the municipal council decided to rebuild the garden. In 1923, the city association convinced the city fathers to initially place the nine remaining dwarfs owned by the city association in their traditional place in the dwarf garden for a short time, but then at least near this old garden. They also looked for traces of the old dwarfs again and found them in Salzburg house gardens, but also in Bavaria, in Hausruck and in Pongau . Today the dwarfs are still not to be found in the old dwarf garden, but in the nearby bastion garden. Five dwarfs are (still) privately owned: in Traunstein and in Reichenhallerstraße in Salzburg.
The baroque dwarf garden south of the raised water bastion itself was converted into an English landscape garden in 1805 according to plans by the Bavarian court gardener Ludwig von Sckell . This garden design is no longer preserved today. Through various interventions, the area has evolved into a park area that is less visible overall, which today has a children's playground and an event pavilion. However, old plans document the former baroque condition of the dwarf garden: It had a large central fountain, the basin of which was larger than the central basin in the large garden parterre of the Mirabell Gardens. Four other small fountains and ornamental flowerbeds set in box hedges are grouped around the fountain. In the historical dwarf garden, a large marble statue of Nicolaus Copernicus , which was designed by Josef Thorak , is currently installed next to the Lodron city wall .
During the winter of 2017/18 the dwarfs were restored.
Hedge theater
The hedge theater consists of a rectangular open space, known as the ground floor , for the audience, a small orchestra pit framed by reclining lions and an architecturally very deep and semicircular stage space at the northern end. The labyrinth adjoins this stage area, the paths of which all lead in a straight line to the stage area, so that actors (sometimes also musicians) can appear or step down in different places on the left or right. The natural backdrop was used in the Baroque period for theater performances or as a labyrinth. In the Christian context, the labyrinth is a symbol of the winding path, on which people should nevertheless always consider their life and so call for contemplation. In addition, the labyrinth could also be used playfully.
The hedge theater was probably laid out in 1691 and the following years by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and slightly changed in design by Matthias Diesel in 1719 . While the hedge theaters, like other stages, mostly follow the type of a peep-box theater, there is a very independent and unique system, which - like the oldest baroque hedge theater in Europe in Herrenhausen-Hanover (built 1687–1693) - is no longer preserved - Parisians Tuillerie garden as a template and developed this further.
In Salzburg there is a three-part theater structure that allows a multi-purpose parquet to be connected as a central part between the actual small auditorium in the very south with the central space for the Prince Archbishop . The oval edge of the parquet, once curved, had steps on the side that were also suitable for sitting. As a rule, however, the performances were watched standing in the time of the archbishopric. Originally, the orchestra room should not have been lowered towards the stalls and the auditorium. The musicians sat freely in front of the raised stage area, which was accessible via steps. The acoustics for the musicians were once better than they are today. The parquet itself evidently had a slight and even slope towards the south from the orchestra room.
The hedge theater is very likely to be the same age as the dwarf garden, which - according to the overall concept of Fischer von Erlach - laid out directly north of the hedge theater below the defensive wall, continues the play on the hedge theater with the stone dwarf theater in a cheerful way. Due to the current relocation of the dwarfs to the water bastion, these architectural references cannot be clearly experienced by Fischer von Erlach. The hedge theater and the old room of the dwarf garden were connected in the 19th century by a staircase crossing the defensive wall, which shows that the garden area of the dwarf theater was historically a meter lower than it is today.
The garden theater often served as a performance venue for ballets, pantomimes and small operas in the time of the prince-archbishop. In recent history there have been repeated attempts to revive the hedge theater as a venue for ballets and singing games. In view of the poor acoustics in the open air and the surrounding noise, this endeavor has so far not met with lasting success. At the moment, however, brass bands often give concerts here in summer. Transparent mobile sound sails for the individual performances could significantly reduce the acoustic problem.
Wasserbastei (formerly Small Bastion Garden)
See also fortifications of the city of Salzburg
The water bastion was laid out in the Thirty Years' War as a preliminary bastion to the large Vitalis bastion and its outbuildings. Presumably around or shortly after 1690 the water bastion was included in the Mirabell Gardens and its baroque design. It received a large central fountain with an artistic ornamental border, which was surrounded by a wreath of eight likewise ornamental flower beds between the paths. In the north of the bastion the fortified, deep moat of the city fortifications was located until around 1860. In the west the bastion reached as far as the banks of the Salzach. Due to the subsequent filling in of the lower half of the defensive wall, the water bastion is difficult to recognize as an important part of the city's external fortifications.
literature
- Reinhard Medicus: The dwarf garden and its history. In Bastei , magazine of the Salzburg City Association, year 2010, part 2, Salzburg 2010.
- Eva Berger: Historic Gardens of Austria: Gardens and parks from the Renaissance to around 1930 . tape 2 Upper Austria, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2003, ISBN 978-3-205-99352-0 , p. 245 ff . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
documentary
- Mirabell's dwarf garden. Quirky stone masterpieces. Documentary (45 min.), A 2014, written and directed by Christian Hager.
Web links
Individual evidence
- Reinhard Medicus: Mirabell Gardens - Article on the homepage of the City of Salzburg.
- Mirabell Gardens . In: Salzburger Nachrichten : Salzburgwiki .
- ↑ Lit. Berger 2003, p. 246
- ↑ The dwarfs are returning to the Mirabell Gardens Salzburger Nachrichten , accessed on April 30, 2018
Coordinates: 47 ° 48 ′ 14.9 ″ N , 13 ° 2 ′ 33.2 ″ E