Publication details
Orientální inspirace v Lednicko-valtickém areálu
| Title in English | The oriental inspiration in the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The Lednice and Valtice estates had been held by this noble family for over 750 years. The Valtice castle became the main family seat of the Liechtensteins and Lednice was used as summer retreat. The turn of the 18th and 19th century is a period when the originally formal garden designs at both castles were gradually changed according to contemporary fashion trends. This process began probably under the rule of Duke Francis Joseph (1726–1781). Duke Alois I Joseph continued the intensive work on gardens and entire estate changes (1759–1805). There were many masters of their craft in his service, namely the architects Karel Rudzinsky, Josef Meissl the Elder (1730–1790) and after him his nephew Joseph Hardtmuth (1758–1816). In the 1790s intensive work in both gardens was under way. The preserved plans show designs which combine classical elements and topics from an English and Chinese styles fusion. The successor of Alois Joseph was his younger brother Johann I Joseph (1760–1836) who once again, radically transformed the design of both gardens. Joseph Hardtmuth in the role of the architect and Bernhard Petri (1767–1853) at that time head economic advisor to the Liechtensteins, joined forces and in relatively short time created an entirely new landscape. The first documented Oriental style building was the Tea Pavilion built in the garden of Valtice castle in the second half of the 18th century. Only its image from around 1776 has been preserved. The tea house was part of an older baroque or rather rococo design. The Lednice estate went through a major transformation under the rule of Alois I Joseph von Liechtenstein (1759–1805) and the garden became connected to the nearby game reserve. The 1799 plan indicates new designs intersected by various vistas and tree avenues and accompanied by numerous follies most of which marked the end points of the main axes of the “Star of Lednice”. The south-western avenue pointed towards the riding stables at the castle, yet another axis ended at the Swan Lake with fountains. A mosque with a single tall and slender minaret (Orientalischer Thurm, Chiosk or Türkischer Thurm) marked the end of the last axis. |