Berlin

Park Sanssouci and Charlottenhof Park » The name Sanssouci, meaning 'without care', tells us something of the man who began this park in 1744. Frederick the Great cared less for pomp and display than many contemporary garden-makers. Like his sister, who made the Ermitage at Bayreuth, and like Lord Burlington, Frederick had a love of Cicero and the landscape of ancient Rome. Yet he spoke French and his taste was French Rococco. Voltaire was a guest at Sans Souci for three years. On a site which had been a vineyard, Frederick was inspired by Virgil's passion for cultivating the vine. This led him to make the most remarkable feature of Sanssouci: the ripple of vine terraces which descends the hill. It supplied the court with fresh gra..... Read more on Park Sanssouci and Charlottenhof Park »

Natur-Park Suedgelaende, Berlin »

The 18 hectares park was once part of Tempelhofer marshalling yard, which closed in 1952. It was being taken over by nature when it was designated a Nature Park in 1996 and opened to the public in 2000. Relics of the railway were made into art objects for incorporation in the park. These include a steam train and a turntable.

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Tiergarten, Berlin » Berlin's central park is a delightfully fresh retreat in the heart of the city. The wild and swampy land was enclosed in the fifteenth century as a hunting park - the translation of Tiergarten is 'Animal Garden'. Avenues were planted in the late seventeenth century. More avenues were laid out in the eighteenth century, by Knobelsdorff, as the Tiergarten became a French-inspired recreational space and the central avenue took on a ceremonial role for the Hohenzollerns. It was then known as the Charlottenburger Chaussee and is now the Strasse des 17 Juni. In 1818 Peter Joseph Lenné was commissioned to begin a transformation of the space into a landscape pa..... Read more on Tiergarten, Berlin »

Botanic Gardens, Berlin » A 42 hectare botanical garden with over 18,000 species of plants. The oldest botanical garden in Germany was founded by the king in the 17th century as a place to grow medicinal plants and vegetables, The garden fell into decay and was restored after 1801 by the botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow. Read more on Botanic Gardens, Berlin »

Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin » The notice outside Charlottenburg states (2002): 'The Palace Garden, with an area ot 33 hectares, is an important monument of Garden architecture. The grounds were laid out beginning in 1697 following the plans of Siméon Godeau, a pupil of the famous French landscape architect André Le Notre. it is thus the earliest garden in Germany which was influenced by Le Notre's style. Characteristic for the Baroque garden of Charlottenburg were the lanes which extended from the middle hail of the palace towards Spandau, Tegel, and Niederschönhausen, the parterre of ornamentally shaped boxwood trees, and the system of tree-lined avenues which are directed towards the north. This Baroq..... Read more on Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin »

Marlene Dietrich Platz, Berlin » A pioneering 'waterscape' design by Herbert Dreiseitl in 1997. Rainwater is harvested from green roofs and conventional roofs. It is a very good project but some landscape architect visitors have commented that it looks better in the designer's photographs than it does in reality. Information about the project can be found at www.dreiseitl.de. The place is named after Marlene Dietrich, a German actress and singer who became very successful in Hollywood and died in 1992. Read more on Marlene Dietrich Platz, Berlin »

Pfaueninsel, Berlin » The Peacock Island is in the Havel lakes, north of Potsdam. Lenné furnished the island with exotic plants and exotic buildings. It is a popular destination for Berliners but is not of great interest to gardeners. Read more on Pfaueninsel, Berlin »

Sony Center, Berlin » Potsdamer Platz was a famed Berlin cultural centre before the Second World War. It was severely bombed during the war because it was near Hitler's bunker. The area became a no-man's land during the cold war. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989, it was re-developed with the aim of recovering its pre-war cultural role. All traces of the hot and cold wars were to be expunged. The Sony Platz section of the Potsdamer Platz re-development was designed as a mixed-use project with space for office, retail, entertainment, residential, and hospitality uses. The central space is a 4,000 square metre tented garden. Its centrepiece is a high-tech steel pool with dancing fountains. This area was des..... Read more on Sony Center, Berlin »