Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell (13 September 1750, in

Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...

– 24 February 1823, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

) was a German landscape gardener from

an der Lahn. He is regarded as the founder of the English gardens in Germany, which he introduced to the German experts with his writings on garden design. His manner of grouping and choice of plants is still used to an extent in German landscaping today.

Career

Sckell was trained in the Court Market Garden in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...

near

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and worked after his apprenticeship in

Bruchsal Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. From 1773 to 1777, he was in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

busying himself with English-style gardening. Upon his return, Sckell redesigned the gardens of Schönbusch Park in Aschaffenburg for the

Prince-Elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

s of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

and Archbishop

Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal (3 January 1719 – 25 July 1802) was prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz from 18 July 1774 to 4 July 1802, shortly before the end of the archbishopric in the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''. F ...

in the English style, as well as those of Schöntal Park. Afterwards he was responsible for the beginning of the Schwetzinger Gardens as a scenic park, and along with

Benjamin Thompson Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolu ...

, was commissioned by Prince Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria in 1789 to begin the

Englischer Garten The ''Englischer Garten'' (, ''English Garden'') is a large public park in the centre of Munich, Bavaria, stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits. It was created in 1789 by Sir Benjamin Thompson (1753–1814), later Count ...

. In the time following the Englischer Garten, Sckell spent a short time in service of the rulers of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

, before he was called back in 1803 to Munich, where, as the Director of Royal Gardens, he completed the Englischer Garten. He then transformed the regular garden of

Nymphenburg Park The Nymphenburg Palace Park ranks among the finest and most important examples of garden design in Germany. In combination with the palace buildings, the ''Grand circle'' entrance structures and the expansive park landscape form the ensemble of th ...

into a more scenic arrangement. As a landscape gardener, Sckell was also responsible for beginning the castle gardens at Biebrich and

Oppenweiler Oppenweiler is a town in the Rems-Murr district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Oppenweiler merged with Reichenberg on 1 April 1938. Geography The municipality ('' Gemeinde'') of Oppenweiler is located in the Rems-Murr district of Bad ...

, and possibly those at

Dirmstein Dirmstein ( pfl, Dermschdää) is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With its roughly 3,000 inhabitants, ...

as well. In 1808, Sckell received the title ''Knight of Sckell'', which added the "von" to his name. He died in 1823 in

as a Court Garden Director, and was buried in the

Alter Südfriedhof The Alter Südfriedhof (''Old South Cemetery'') also known as "Alter Südlicher Friedhof" is a cemetery in Munich, Germany. It was founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563 about half a kilometer south of the Sendlinger Ga ...

there. A monument in the Englischer Garten was erected in his honor.

Notes

References

* The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent. * Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell: ''Beiträge zur bildenden Gartenkunst für angehende Gartenkünstler''. 2. Nachdruck der 2. Auflage von 1825, Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft (Grüne Reihe - Quellen und Forschungen zur Gartenkunst Band 05), Worms, 1998, *

Volker Hannwacker Volker may refer to: * Volker (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Volker, Kansas City, a historic neighborhood in Kansas City * Volker Boulevard, Kansas City * '' Alien Nations'' (German: ''Die Völker''), a real-tim ...

: ''Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell. Der Begründer des Landschaftsgarten in Deutschland''.

Deutsche Verlag-Anstalt Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym * Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic v ...

, Stuttgart, 1992,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sckell, Friedrich Ludwig von 1750 births 1823 deaths 18th-century German people 19th-century German people German gardeners German landscape architects German untitled nobility People from Weilburg Burials at the Alter Südfriedhof

Career

See also

Notes

References

External links