This year the Rundāle Palace Museum is joining an international initiative to promote gardens and parks and invites visitors to the first “Rendez-vous at the Garden”, which will take place this Friday, 3 June. The event is designed for families with children – there will be an opportunity to get to know the rare animal and plant species in the Rundāle Palace Garden, plant a flower to take away and grow, as well as go on a guided tour of the garden led by the palace gardeners.
“Rendez-vous aux jardins” (Rendez-vous at the Gardens) started in France in 2003 with the aim of bringing the diversity of gardens to a wider public, raising awareness of gardens as cultural heritage, and imparting knowledge about creating and caring for gardens. Every year, on the first weekend in June, private and public gardens and parks in France offer visitors various workshops and excursions to discover their gardens. Friday is traditionally dedicated to activities for children and young people.
In 2018, other European countries joined the French initiative, and this year events will take place in parks and gardens in 24 European countries, including for the first time in Latvia – in the French Garden of Rundāle Palace.
This Friday, 3 June, from 16.00 to 18.00, creative workshops for children of all ages will take place in the French Garden of Rundāle Palace. In the workshop “Rare Species”, children will get acquainted with rare and protected species of wild animals and plants found in the territory of Rundāle Palace. Participants will work on various tasks and create their own rare plant or animal. Children will also be invited to take part in the “Green Fingers” workshop and plant their own plant in a pot to take home to grow and care for. For the little ones, there will be a game “Search for yourself!” – looking for special checkpoints in the garden. At the end of the evening, a guided tour of the Rundāle Palace French Garden is planned. To register for the workshops and excursions, please fill in the registration form: .
Visitors are also invited to stroll through the garden and admire the tulips, lilacs and ornamental fruit trees in bloom. A digital guide – a website with a garden plan and descriptions of the bosquets and plants – will be useful in getting to know the garden. In summer, the garden is open until 21.00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The French Garden of Rundāle Palace, which last year won the European Garden Award in the category “Management or Development of a Historic Park or Garden”, is designed by the palace architect Francesco Rastrelli and covers an area of 10 hectares. The restoration of the garden was carried out in parallel with the restoration of the palace, with a great contribution from the Museum staff and volunteers. The garden now features all the typical elements of a Baroque garden: an ornamental parterre, a fountain, the Green Theatre, bosquets, pergolas, pavilions and a labyrinth. The Rose Garden of Rundāle Palace is particularly popular with visitors, with more than 2000 varieties of historical and modern roses.