| The Romantic Gardens
| | At the end of the 18th century a number of the royal gardens changed from the baroque style into the romantic style. This was the case with Frederiksberg Garden and Morienlyst Castle Garden in Elsinore. The aristocracy was also inspired by the new garden style. Liselund in Møn is an example of this. |
A New Type of Garden
As late as the 1760´s Fredensborg, Frederiksberg and Marienlyst Gardens were changed into baroque gardens in French style with order and symmetry. Just 30 years later the style had changed to a more scenic garden. While the order of the baroque mirrored the time of the continental absolute monarchy, the new English scenic garden is a token of times to come.
As the only on of the royal gardens the baroque garden at Frederiksborg Castle avoided being changed into a romantic scenic garden. It was probably to difficult and costly to cut down the many lime avenues and change the characteristic terraced terrain.
In England a parliamentary rule was introduced early on with rights and autonomy for the individual. You had to be able to orientate yourself in the landscape, the political landscape too, and a greater romantic sensitivity appears on the horizon.
Frederiksberg Garden
A comparison with J.C. Krieger´s drawing of Frederiksberg Have from 1760 with Peter Petersen´s plan design 1795 for a romantic garden shows the difference between the baroque and the romantic garden. While the baroque garden is marked by symmetry and regularity, the opposite is the case with the romantic plan design: The central parts of the garden is turned into a confusion of winding paths and the water system has been reshaped into a casual winding course with three lakes.
However, it is not entirely casual. Everything is organized, but it must look like “real” nature, which should make the visitor want to explore the garden. This is why there are surprises along the way: A waterfall, an antique temple and one island has a Chinese house and a footbridge. These features must stimulate the experience and make the mind sensitive. Frederiksberg Garden has in later years been reconstructed as a romantic garden. Thus the waterfall, which originally was horse drawn, has been recreated.
Frederiksberg Garden Park | 
The romantic garden | 
The king in Frederiksberg Garden. | 
The China House | 
The China Bridge |
The landscape garden | 
The waterfall, Frederiksborg park |
Marienlysts Romantic Garden
Marienlyst in Elsinore had been transformed into a classic mansion in the period 1759-64 and in 1667 it was furnished with a baroque garden in French style. Officially Laord Chamberlain, count A.G. Moltke was the building owner, but in reality it was the king, Frederik 5., who owned it. His successor Christian 7. used the mansion for a few official events, but it soon passed to his step mother the queen dowager Juliane Marie.
A plan design by the German gardener Johan Ludvig Mansas from around 1790 illustrates the plans for a new romantic garden layout. In this case they wanted to build on the outside of the existing garden, so the slope behind will become supplementary layout. It is a distinct romantic experience garden, to which exotic touches are added like the grave of Hamlet and Ophelia´s spring. These features continue far into the 19th century as sights for the increasing flock of tourists. Lately is has been suggested that the parts of the romantic layout should be recreated.
Marienlyst´s romantic garden |
Liselund
Not only royalty, but also wealthy aristocrats became interested in the new garden style. One example is the married couple Antoine and Lisa de la Calmette, who created the romantic garden around Liselund in Møn. Antoine was a Dutch diplomat´s son and the couple undertook several culture journeys to southern Europe, perhaps inspired by the Englishman Laurence Stern´s account of the sensitive journey to Italy and France.
The direct inspiration probably came from Northern Germany and from 1791 there is a plan design by M. Westenholdt. It contains proposals for plantings with oak and beech closely connected to the surroundings and the planned buildings, which apart from the main building also included the Norwegian House, the Swiss Cottage with conifers and a Chinese cottage with a weeping ash. Conifers are relatively new and exotic and overall many rare tree sorts were used.
Liselund 1791 | 
Liselunds romantiske garden. | 
Liselund | 
Interior | 
The romantic garden |
The scenic garden | 
The canyon | 
Liselund´s Garden |
Other Examples
The romantic garden, the scenic garden, the experience garden or the English garden became fashionable at the end of the 18th century. In some cases existing gardens were recreated, like Frederiksberg Garden for example, but in other cases a number of enirely new gardens were laid out by a number of private individuals. The garden no longer just represented the absolute state power
Apart from Liselund Dronninggård, later Næsseslottet, by Furesøen north of Copenhagen is worth a mention. Here many wealthy people bought summer properties in the en of the 18th century, where Denmark earned a great deal of money off international transit trade. |