Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

kitchen gardens, Johann van Wynder; and the
steward in charge of the buildings, Theodor
Zeller. The resulting report, the “Protocollum
commissionale” 3 , was largely written by Sckell;
it contains a wealth of information about the
condition of the palace buildings and gardens
and the measures decided upon for their
maintenance.
There are detailed descriptions of the
individual parts of the garden, both pleasure
and kitchen gardens, and instructions
pertaining to their future upkeep; there
is an inventory of orangery plants, again
with instructions for their treatment and a
possible reduction of their number; a list
of every building in the garden, including
the greenhouses, with assessements of
the necessary repairs; an inventory of the
waterworks and plumbing, of gardening
tools and their condition; and there are data
regarding the materials needed for running
maintenance. Listed, too, is the produce
grown for sale in the nurseries and vegetable
gardens. The precise lists of staff, and pay,
needed for seasonal work bear witness to the
effort at least to maintain the appearance of
the Schwetzingen garden, despite the need to
cut costs “until times are better” 4 .
The way the “Protocollum commissionale”
is structured is strikingly reminiscent of
the “maintenance books” developed in the
1960s, by the Bavarian Staatsgärtendirektor
(state director of gardens) Christian Bauer
(1903-1978), for the purpose of ensuring a
continuous and well-informed care of parks
and gardens, in keeping with historical
considerations, entitled “Parkpflegewerk”.
They listed long-term measures based on
historical documents and an analysis of the
current condition of the garden in question;
their success was to be reviewed, and the
findings used for further action. Bauer
intended his “Parkpflegewerk” – in effect, a
management plan – to grow into an unbroken
record of a garden’s development over time.
3 Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe (GLA), 221/46 of 30.06.1795,
Sheet 1.
4 GLA, 221/46 of 02. 07.1795, Sheet 11.
IV. Palace Gardens: Role and Significance
Sckell’s own opinions regarding the continued
existence of the Schwetzingen grounds
were not made public until 23 years after
the inspection, when he published his book,
Beiträge zur bildenden Gartenkunst. Budding
landscape gardeners and garden lovers in
general are encouraged to maintain the old
formal gardens, where they still survive, 5
especially in the case of important gardens
surrounding stately buildings. “The circle
in front of Schwetzingen Palace is the very
example of such a regular, showy feature
between a palace and its more natural, or
public, grounds. Although I have never
been an admirer of trellises, however
necessary and indispensable they may be to
the formal gardens and however splendid
and appropriate they may appear, gracing
the surroundings of the bathhouse at
Schwetzingen... I would still put the case for
the fine arbour there, outlining the upper half
of the aforementioned circle... the more so as
it provides a shady, graceful and, if I may say
so, almost romantic walk.” 6
The “Protocollum” shows this statement to
be based on Sckell’s very detailed demands
regarding the upkeep of the Schwetzingen
gardens from 1795 onwards. It was his job
to make these demands as he had been
appointed court gardener on 25th April
1792, succeeding his father in the post. 7
The certificate of appointment specifies the
gardens entrusted to his care, including the
pleasure gardens, nurseries, orangery and
“those new gardens which his knowledge
and artistry will devise and build” as well as
whatever alterations might require a “special
care and attention calling for his expert
knowledge”.
The suggestions for the garden’s future
upkeep made by Sckell during the inspection
tour were reviewed by the committee
members, only occasionally modified and in
the end, approved by all. Starting out with
the circular parterre, Sckell was primarily
5 Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, Beiträge zur bildenden Gartenkunst,
2nd improved edition, München 1823, p. 202.
6 Sckell, 1823, pp. 204-205.
7 GLA, 221/111.
IV.
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