Guided Tour of "Lenné-Park Görlsdorf"

Garden Design by Peter Joseph Lenné

In the early 19th century, landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné designed the park. As General Director of the Royal Prussian Gardens, Lenné was responsible for the parks in Potsdam. In Görlsdorf, he realized his ideal vision of a landscape park in the style of English landscape gardens—a style quite different from the strictly geometric parks, such as those at Sanssouci or Versailles, that were still favored in the 18th century.

In designing the garden, he took his cue from the existing landscape, with its forest and river. Through great horticultural effort, Lenné created a varied, natural-looking setting that was intended to appear to park visitors as a “walk-through landscape painting.”

As a hallmark of Lenné’s design concept, sightlines offer views of the surrounding meadows and hills.

From Pariser Platz to Görlsdorf

The park was commissioned by the von Redern princely family, who had owned Görlsdorf and the surrounding estates since 1632. The von Rederns were among the wealthiest Prussian landowners of their time, and their head, Friedrich Wilhelm Graf zu Redern, held the highest positions at the royal court. His city palace in Berlin, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, was located in a prominent spot on Pariser Platz, where the Hotel Adlon stands today.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Friedrich Wilhelm von Redern had the existing Görlsdorf manor house converted into a stately family residence by the architect Knoblauch. The family used the castle as a summer residence, where they entertained noble friends and, at great expense, the Prussian royal family. At the end of the century, the castle underwent a major renovation by the architect Ferdinand Schorbach.

The princely family retained the family estate and park until they were forced to flee westward at the end of World War II, when the castle was destroyed by a fire under circumstances that remain unclear to this day.

In the years that followed, Lenné Park fell into obscurity in the GDR and became overgrown. After German reunification, a support association restored the park at great expense; it now oversees its maintenance and further development and looks forward to welcoming guests who wish to visit this idyllic spot.