The Princely Garden Festival puts garden culture and the rural way of life centre stage. It has become one of the most renowned and traditional garden events in Germany – not least due to the atmosphere and the harmonious surroundings of the palaces. Plant lovers will find a wide range of perennials, bulbous plants, ornamental shrubs and herbs. Exhibitors also present stylish garden furniture and accessories, high-quality arts and crafts, fashion, jewellery and delicatessen. The supporting programme includes art, music, lectures, guided tours and workshops for young and old.
Raising awareness of garden culture
The House of Hesse pursues overarching goals with the Princely Garden Festival. In a recent interview with the Fuldaer Zeitung, the patroness, Landgravine Floria von Hessen, pointed out that it is also about creating an awareness of garden culture, which seems to be more firmly anchored in society in England and France. However, the Landgravine commented on a possible comparison with the Chelsea Flower Show in London or Les Journées des Plantes near Paris: “As far as London is concerned, they have a 100-year head start.”
In addition, Haus Hessen aims to promote the professions of gardeners and garden and landscape architects. For the past 15 years, the best ideas from a competition have been realised at Schloss Fasanerie. This year, a show garden on the theme ‘From the rainforest to the garden – new opportunities for the future’, planned by two students from Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, will be created at the end of May.
Schools are also invited to realise ideas on the topic of ‘Who will build the most beautiful hobbyhorse (in Kranichstein) or the most beautiful cake (in Fasanerie)?’. In Wolfsgarten, 20 to 30 trainees from the Philipp Holzmann School in Frankfurt will design a garden over the course of two to three days.
Rulers from 1263 to 1918
The House of Hesse is a German noble family that ruled various principalities from 1263 to 1918, from which the present-day federal state of Hesse emerged. In the 16th century, Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous played an important role in the political, military and administrative implementation of the Reformation in Germany.
There is a particularly close relationship with the English royal family. Two of Prince Philipp’s sisters married into the House of Hesse. The head of the family, Heinrich Donatus von Hessen, is the great-great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and was one of 30 guests at the funeral service for Prince Philipp at Windsor Castle in April 2021.
In addition to Kranichstein and Wolfsgarten, the possessions of the House of Hesse include a vineyard in the Rheingau, Schlosshotel Kronberg and Schloss Panker in Schleswig-Holstein.
Hesse's most beautiful Baroque palace
Since the Congress of Vienna, Schloss Fasanerie near Fulda has also belonged to the House of Hesse. Built in the mid-18th century as the summer residence of the prince-bishops of Fulda on the hills outside the city gates, it is now considered the most beautiful baroque palace in Hesse with a varied park area. The castle with its museum and the art collection of the House of Hesse as well as the surrounding park are open to the public.
As part of a special exhibition entitled ‘The Fascination of East Asia – Art Treasures from China and Japan in the Hessian Princely House’, around 150 porcelains, lacquerware and carvings from the holdings of the House of Hesse will also be on display in the bathhouse at Schloss Fasanerie from 28 June to 5 October.
Information
The Princely Garden Festival will take place from 25 to 27 April at Hofgut Kranichstein, from 29 May to 1 June 2025 at Schloss Fasanerie, from 22 to 24 August as the ‘Market for Real Things’ again at Schloss Fasanerie and from 19 to 21 September at Schloss Wolfsgarten. The show is open on 25 April from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on all other dates from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More information at www.gartenfest.de. Information on Schloss Fasanerie can be found at www.schloss-fasanerie.de.
Text and photos: Dr Wolfgang Gerhardt. Photographed at the Princely Garden Festival at Schloss Fasanerie in previous years
Translated with DeepL.com