Peter Joseph Lenné
Encyclopedia
Peter Joseph Lenné (29 September 1789 — 23 January 1866) was a Prussia
n gardener and landscape architect
from Bonn
who worked in the German classicist
style.
, Lenné decided to work with gardens. He began his apprenticeship as a gardener in 1808 with his uncle, Josef Clemens Weyhe, the court gardener in Brühl.
From 1809 to 1812, Lenné took many study trips, paid for by his father, which took him to Southern Germany
, to France
, and to Switzerland
. In 1811, he completed a long internship in Paris with Gabriel Thouin, who was then the most famous garden architect in Europe. This made him a master landscaper. On another of these trips, Lenné made the acquaintance of the creator of the English Garden in Munich
, the landscape gardener Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell
, who would have a lasting influence of Lenné's work.
, where he had been named Director of the Gardens by the Prefect Jules Doazan. Later in that year, Lenné became active at Schloss Schönbrunn, where he would remain until 1814. He then returned to Koblenz, where he was give private garden commissions until 1815. The "Erweiterung der Festungsanlagen veranlasste ihn zu einem Plan für die Verschönerung der Stadt mit Gartenanlagen", which was not carried out because of a lack of funds. In 1816, he returned to Potsdam
after the suggestions of Prussian forestry official Georg Ludwig Hartig
and General Graf von Hacke
. There he received the position of Assistant Gardener to the Court Garden Director in Sanssouci
.
Still working as an assistant gardener, Lenné received a commission in the Spring of 1816 from the Prussian Chancellor Karl August von Hardenberg
to renovate the grounds around his country house at Klein-Glienicke. This work on Glienicke Palace
, which would later become Prince Carl of Prussia's residence, laid the groundwork for Lenné's designs for the surrounding area of Potsdam, which he wanted to turn into a Gesamtkunstwerk
. The upgrades of the Glienicke grounds followed - in close cooperation with the architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel
, Ludwig Persius
, and Ferdinand von Arnim
- those of others such as the grounds of Böttcherberg and its opposite, Babelsberg Park, which was completed by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau
. Characteristic of Lenné's work are versatile Sichtachsen - a horicultural stylistical device - which he applied at Sanssouci Park
and elsewhere. As part of the Berlin
-Potsdam cultural landscape, which stretches from the Pfaueninsel
to Werder
, many sites of Lenné's work are World Heritage Sites, which has been under the protection of UNESCO
collectively since 1990.
In 1823, the Gardener Academy in Schöneberg
and Potsdam was founded under his management. Here for the first time schooling in garden architecture was taught in a scientific manner. In 1828, Lenné was named the sole Garden Director and in 1845, Prussian Garden Director-General. The Akademie der Künste
made Lenné an honorary member.
In 1840, the recently enthroned King Friedrich Wilhelm IV assigned the urban planning of Berlin to Lenné. One of his most important achievements in this role survives in the building of the Luisenstädtischer Kanal
, constructed in 1852, between the Landwehrkanal
and the River Spree
in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The canal's design was based on plans by Chief Building Officer Johann Carl Ludwig Schmid
.
Despite centering his life around Potsdam and Berlin, Lenné remained attached to his Rhenish homeland and contributed to the further beautification of Koblenz, particularly in the Rheinanlagen, which was under his management until 1861. His love of his work on the Rhine and Mosel made him decide to build the residence named for him, the Lenné-Haus, in which he wished to spend the evening of his life; however, the manner of his death did not allow this. Lenné's last resting place is at the Bornstedt
er Cemetery in Potsdam.
Busts of Peter Joseph Lenné are located at the Bonn Botanical Garden, at the bank of the Rhine (Alter Zoll), in the Landschaftspark Petzow that he himself designed, in Feldafing Park, in the Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen in Koblenz (copy of a bust by Rauch
). A new bust was finished by Bad Homburg
er sculptor Otto Weber-Hartl.
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n gardener and landscape architect
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
from Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
who worked in the German classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
style.
Childhood and development
Lenné was the son of the royal court gardener, Peter Joseph Lenné the Elder, and his wife, Anna Catharina Potgieter (also Potgeter). After the AbiturAbitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
, Lenné decided to work with gardens. He began his apprenticeship as a gardener in 1808 with his uncle, Josef Clemens Weyhe, the court gardener in Brühl.
From 1809 to 1812, Lenné took many study trips, paid for by his father, which took him to Southern Germany
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
, to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1811, he completed a long internship in Paris with Gabriel Thouin, who was then the most famous garden architect in Europe. This made him a master landscaper. On another of these trips, Lenné made the acquaintance of the creator of the English Garden in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, the landscape gardener Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell
Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell
Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell was a German landscape gardener from Weilburg an der Lahn.Sckell was trained in the Court Market Garden in Schwetzingen near Mannheim and worked after his apprenticeship in Bruchsal, Paris, and Versailles. From 1773 to 1777, he was in England busying himself with...
, who would have a lasting influence of Lenné's work.
Assistant gardener
In 1812, Lenné followed his father to KoblenzKoblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, where he had been named Director of the Gardens by the Prefect Jules Doazan. Later in that year, Lenné became active at Schloss Schönbrunn, where he would remain until 1814. He then returned to Koblenz, where he was give private garden commissions until 1815. The "Erweiterung der Festungsanlagen veranlasste ihn zu einem Plan für die Verschönerung der Stadt mit Gartenanlagen", which was not carried out because of a lack of funds. In 1816, he returned to Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
after the suggestions of Prussian forestry official Georg Ludwig Hartig
Georg Ludwig Hartig
Georg Ludwig Hartig , German agriculturist and writer on forestry, was born at Gladenbach, in Hesse.- Life :...
and General Graf von Hacke
Hans Christoph Friedrich Graf von Hacke
Hans Christoph Friedrich Graf von Hacke was a Prussian General and Commandant of Berlin...
. There he received the position of Assistant Gardener to the Court Garden Director in Sanssouci
Sanssouci
Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
.
Still working as an assistant gardener, Lenné received a commission in the Spring of 1816 from the Prussian Chancellor Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms...
to renovate the grounds around his country house at Klein-Glienicke. This work on Glienicke Palace
Glienicke Palace
Glienicke Palace is located on the Island of Berlin-Wannsee, near the Glienicke Bridge, on the B1 across from the Glienicke Hunting Lodge. It was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for Prince Carl of Prussia in 1826, The building, originally merely a cottage, was turned into a summer palace in...
, which would later become Prince Carl of Prussia's residence, laid the groundwork for Lenné's designs for the surrounding area of Potsdam, which he wanted to turn into a Gesamtkunstwerk
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
. The upgrades of the Glienicke grounds followed - in close cooperation with the architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
, Ludwig Persius
Ludwig Persius
Friedrich Ludwig Persius was a Prussian architect and a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel....
, and Ferdinand von Arnim
Ferdinand von Arnim
Ferdinand von Arnim was a German architect and watercolour-painter. He was a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Ludwig Persius who mainly worked in Berlin and Potsdam....
- those of others such as the grounds of Böttcherberg and its opposite, Babelsberg Park, which was completed by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau
Hermann von Pückler-Muskau
Prince was a German nobleman, who was an excellent artist in landscape gardening and wrote widely appreciated books, mostly about his travels in Europe and Northern Africa, published under the pen name of "Semilasso".- Life :He was born at Muskau Castle in Upper Lusatia, then ruled by...
. Characteristic of Lenné's work are versatile Sichtachsen - a horicultural stylistical device - which he applied at Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the structure. A baroque flower garden with lawns, flower beds, hedges and trees was created. In the hedge...
and elsewhere. As part of the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Potsdam cultural landscape, which stretches from the Pfaueninsel
Pfaueninsel
Pfaueninsel is an island in the River Havel situated in Berlin-Wannsee, in southwestern Berlin, near the borders with Potsdam and Brandenburg. The island is part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin World Heritage Site and a popular destination for day-trippers...
to Werder
Werder (Havel)
Werder , is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Havel river in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, west of the state's capital Potsdam.Werder has a long and rich history and is a nationally recognized Erholungsort – a government designation given to...
, many sites of Lenné's work are World Heritage Sites, which has been under the protection of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
collectively since 1990.
Prussian Garden Director-General
The accomplishments of the garden architect are reflected in his career progression. In 1818 he was an employee of the Royal Garden Authority, and in 1822, he received a promotion to Gardening Director. That same year, Lenné became a founding member of the Prussian Society for the Promotion of Horticulture. Lenné also accepted the position of Manager of the Division of Orchard Cultivation and later of the Parks Division.In 1823, the Gardener Academy in Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
and Potsdam was founded under his management. Here for the first time schooling in garden architecture was taught in a scientific manner. In 1828, Lenné was named the sole Garden Director and in 1845, Prussian Garden Director-General. The Akademie der Künste
Akademie der Künste
The Akademie der Künste, Berlin is an arts institution in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1696 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg as the Prussian Academy of Arts, an academic institution where members could meet and discuss and share ideas...
made Lenné an honorary member.
In 1840, the recently enthroned King Friedrich Wilhelm IV assigned the urban planning of Berlin to Lenné. One of his most important achievements in this role survives in the building of the Luisenstädtischer Kanal
Luisenstadt Canal
The Luisenstadt Canal, or Luisenstädtischer Kanal, is a long former canal in Berlin, Germany. It is named after the Luisenstadt district and ran through today's districts of Kreuzberg and Mitte, linking the Landwehr Canal with the Spree River, and serving a central canal basin known as the...
, constructed in 1852, between the Landwehrkanal
Landwehrkanal
The Landwehr Canal, or Landwehrkanal in German, is a long canal parallel to the Spree river in Berlin, Germany, built between 1845 and 1850 according to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné...
and the River Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The canal's design was based on plans by Chief Building Officer Johann Carl Ludwig Schmid
Johann Carl Ludwig Schmid
Johann Carl Ludwig Schmid was a German architect. He succeeded August Günther as leader of the Oberbaudeputation in 1842 and in 1848 the kingdom of Prussia made him director of Berlin's Bauakademie....
.
Despite centering his life around Potsdam and Berlin, Lenné remained attached to his Rhenish homeland and contributed to the further beautification of Koblenz, particularly in the Rheinanlagen, which was under his management until 1861. His love of his work on the Rhine and Mosel made him decide to build the residence named for him, the Lenné-Haus, in which he wished to spend the evening of his life; however, the manner of his death did not allow this. Lenné's last resting place is at the Bornstedt
Bornstedt (Potsdam)
Bornstedt is a borough of Potsdam, Germany. It is bordered by the Pappelallee and the Castle Park of Sanssouci to the south, the Amundsenstraße to the west, and by the Nedlitzer Straße to the north and east...
er Cemetery in Potsdam.
Busts of Peter Joseph Lenné are located at the Bonn Botanical Garden, at the bank of the Rhine (Alter Zoll), in the Landschaftspark Petzow that he himself designed, in Feldafing Park, in the Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen in Koblenz (copy of a bust by Rauch
Christian Daniel Rauch
Christian Daniel Rauch was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century.-Biography:Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of Waldeck...
). A new bust was finished by Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus, bordering among others Frankfurt am Main and Oberursel...
er sculptor Otto Weber-Hartl.
Main works
- Landschaftsgarten of Neuhardenberg Palace
- Roseninsel and Lenné Park in FeldafingFeldafingFeldafing is a municipality in Starnberg district, Bavaria, Germany, and is located on the west shore of Lake Starnberg, southwest of Munich.- History :...
at Starnberger See - Klosterbergegarten in MagdeburgMagdeburgMagdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
- Zwierzyniec Park, Złotów
- Park SanssouciSanssouciSanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
in PotsdamPotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre.... - The Garden of Caputh Palace at Potsdam
- Landschaftspark Petzow Palace, Werder (Havel)Werder (Havel)Werder , is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Havel river in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, west of the state's capital Potsdam.Werder has a long and rich history and is a nationally recognized Erholungsort – a government designation given to...
- Volkspark Klein-Glienicke, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Design for the Landschaftspark in Blumberg (Barnim) at Ahrensfelde
- Design for the Landwehrkanal
- Design for the Luisenstädtischer KanalLuisenstadt CanalThe Luisenstadt Canal, or Luisenstädtischer Kanal, is a long former canal in Berlin, Germany. It is named after the Luisenstadt district and ran through today's districts of Kreuzberg and Mitte, linking the Landwehr Canal with the Spree River, and serving a central canal basin known as the...
, Berlin - Design for the TiergartenTiergartenTiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
, Berlin - Design for the Parks at Blankensee Palace, BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, today called the Sudermann-Park - Design for the Spa Gardens at Bad HomburgBad HomburgBad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus, bordering among others Frankfurt am Main and Oberursel...
- Schlossgarten Liebenberg northwest of Berlin, described in Fontane'sTheodor FontaneTheodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
Fünf Schlösser (in Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg) - Landschaftspark of Wolfshagen Palace
- Park of Schloss Trebnitz (at MünchebergMünchebergMüncheberg is a small town in Märkisch-Oderland, Germany approximately half-way between Berlin and the border with Poland.-Geography:Prior to 2003 the area today covered by Müncheberg was organized as the so-called "Amt Müncheberg"...
) - Lenné Park in Frankfurt (Oder)Frankfurt (Oder)Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
- Kaiserin-Augusta-Anlagen and the Park of the Palace of the Prince-Elector in KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
- City Park and Spa Gardens in AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
- Castle Park in SinzigSinzigSinzig is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Rhine, approx. 5 km south-east of Remagen and 25 km south-east of Bonn, and it has approximately 20,000 inhabitants .-History:...
- Gartenanlage of the Zehnthof in SinzigSinzigSinzig is a town in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Rhine, approx. 5 km south-east of Remagen and 25 km south-east of Bonn, and it has approximately 20,000 inhabitants .-History:...
- Gartenanlage of Friedrichsfelde Palace, located in the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde in Berlin
- Gartenanlagen on the mountainside around Stolzenfels CastleStolzenfels CastleStolzenfels Castle is a castle near Koblenz on the Rhine, Germany.Finished in 1259, Stolzenfels was used to protect the toll station at the Rhine, where the ships, back then were the main transport for goods, had to stop and pay toll...
at Koblenz - Castle Garden in Brühl
- Design for the Spa Gardens at Bad OeynhausenBad OeynhausenBad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
- Castle Park in Fürstlich Drehna
- Gartenanlage of Bürgerwiese in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
- Dresden ZooDresden ZooDresden Zoo, or Zoo Dresden, is a zoo situated in the city of Dresden in Germany. It was opened in 1861, making it Germany's fourth oldest zoo. It was originally designed by Peter Joseph Lenné....
in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....