The Castle Garden at Heidelberg 



The Castle Garden at Heidelberg is particularly inter- 

 esting from a historic as well as an architectural stand- 

 jjoint. It dates back to the latter ])art of the sixteenth 

 century, when it was first laid out by Frederick 1\'., 

 Elector Palatine at Heidelberg. Although the original 

 l)lan of this garden was made in 1593, the decorative and 

 architectural work was not begun until after 1610, wdien 

 I'rederick \'. succeeded his fatlier. In 1612, the ingenu- 

 ous Solomon de Caus von Dieppe, the greatest physicist 

 of his dav, came into the services of the king and imme- 



garden and of numerous irregular terraces, necessary on 

 account of the hilly nature of the ground, required a great 

 expenditure of time and money. The four principal 

 terraces were partly carved from the solid rock and partly 

 built u]) with massive arcaded walls, lieneath these are 

 numerous grottos and baths, once gorgeously fitted out 

 and ornamented with curiously carved stones and beauti- 

 ful statuary of men and beasts disporting themselves in 

 the water. The walls were exquisitely decorated with 

 costly stones, rare shells and variegated" corals. Strange 



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diately began extensive operations for beautifying the 

 grounds. De Caus had been in the service of the Prince 

 of Wales and came to Germany thoroughly grounded in 

 the principles underlying the English art of design and 

 taste. He laid out the garden on a purely English style, 

 and on this account it has always been known as the 

 E'nglish Garden. 



In 1618, F"rederick \ . married Princess Elizabeth, the 

 daughter of King James I. of England. In her honor 

 the Elizabethan Gate, at the entrance of the garden, and 

 several other decorative structures within were erected. 

 The plan, as designed and in part successfully executed 

 by de Caus, is an emblem of engineering and architectural 

 skill. The construction of massive walls aroimd the 



figures of men and women, animals of all kinds, and 

 especially of birds, adorned all parts of the garden. 

 Myriads of artistic fountains and water rushing down 

 over artificial rock and spreading in beautiful cascades 

 as it descended, were conspicuous decorative features. 

 Numerous small ponds, in which trout and other fish 

 were propagated, formed a part of this private pleasure 

 ground. Extensive beds of the rarest flowers thrived 

 here and southern trees of many varieties were grown in 

 artificially protected spots. At one time fully four hun- 

 dred and fifty orange trees grew in this garden, while 

 figs, lemons, citrons, pomegranates and bay berries also 

 flourished. 



In 1610. Frederick \'., Elector Palatine, became King 



