The Rundāle Palace Museum has published a richly illustrated guide “Rundāle Palace Park and Gardens”, dedicated to the French Garden of the Palace and its grounds, which last year won the European Garden Award. The guide conveys the history and restoration of the garden, the main garden elements and the plant collections. The guide was written by Lauma Lancmane, a specialist in the Art Research Department.
“The purpose of the guide is to present the process of restoration of the historical Baroque Garden of Rundāle Palace and to show how the original project of architect Rastrelli, characterised by the Baroque desire to surprise and excite visitors with collections of plants appropriate to the period and their peculiar forms, has been fulfilled in modern times,” says Lauma Lancmane.
The introductory chapter gives an overview of the history of the Baroque or French garden of the Palace, from its creation, which took place alongside the construction of the palace from 1736, until the 1970s when the restoration of the garden began. At that time, it was an unkempt, neglected area with overgrown, damaged trees, school sports fields and teachers’ allotments.
The reader will also find out how the restoration of the park and gardens has been carried out over several decades. The text is complemented by visual material – images of restoration projects and photographs capturing historical moments, such as the planting of the first linden tree in the French Garden Alley in 1984 by the first Museum employees Imants Lancmanis and Leopolds Mārcis Kļaviņš.
The French Garden of Rundāle Palace consists of an ornamental parterre closer to the palace with low ornamental planting and hedged areas or bosquettes in the outer part of the garden. The guide contains concise information about all parts of the garden – their creation, significance, and plant collections. Much attention is devoted to the Rose Garden, which delights visitors from May until the first autumn frosts. Here visitors can discover both historic and modern rose varieties and compare the work of breeders from around the world.
Finally, other elements of the Rundāle Palace complex are discussed – canals, fences, ponds, orangery, orchards and, perhaps the least known part of the Rundāle Palace territory, the forest park, which the Duke used for hunting. Now it is possible to take peaceful walks in the hunting park and observe the diversity of nature, including rare plants and insects.
The guide “Rundāle Palace Park and Gardens” is available at the Rundāle Palace Museum ticket office, price – EUR 6.
A digital guide has also been developed to assist visitors to get to know the French Garden of Rundāle Palace – open digitalaisgids.rundale.net on your phone or scan the QR codes in the garden. The digital guide includes a digital map of the garden, descriptions of the main parts and a narrative about the history of the Rundāle Palace complex. The information in the digital guide is provided in Latvian, Russian, English and German.
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