The Palace Garden

Why visit

Many Baroque gardens in Germany were turned into English landscape parks in the 19th century. Weikersheim’s was not, so you can still walk through a garden much as a count and his guests saw it some 300 years ago: geometric flower beds, gravel paths, clipped hedges, water and a crowd of stone figures, all lined up on the palace.

What to see

• The Hercules Fountain: the hero fighting the many-headed Hydra, in the pool at the heart of the garden.
• The statues: gods of Olympus, the seasons, the elements and the continents, placed along the main paths.
• The gallery of dwarfs: a row of stone dwarfs on a balustrade, comic figures that poke fun at life at court.
• The orangery: two curved arcaded wings at the far end, which once sheltered citrus trees in winter and now open the view to the valley and vineyards.
• The view back: turn around at the orangery for the classic view of the palace across the garden.

Tips

• Come in the morning or late afternoon for soft light on the statues and the palace front.
• The potted citrus and other tender plants stand in the garden in summer and are taken indoors for the winter.
• Check the palace website for garden opening times and tickets.
• Read the best time to visit Weikersheim.