Gärten und Grünflächen#
Parks and Gardens: Gardens with medicinal and other useful plants were laid out in the Middle Ages in monasteries and castles. Austria boasts a number of gardens from different eras of horticultural history, including, from the Baroque era, the garden of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, created by J. L. v. Hildebrandt and D. Girard for Prince Eugène (1700-1725); the Rococo gardens of Schoenbrunn with original bosquettes, designed around 1750 by N. Jadot and L. Gervais, and complemented by J. F. Hetzendorf v. Hohenberg and W. Beyer around 1770; from the "English" phase the Laxenburg Gardens in Lower Austria, designed by I. Canevale around 1780 and enlarged by M. Riedl around 1800; from Historicism the Kaiserpark at Bad Ischl, laid out by F. Rauch around 1855-1860 for Emperor Franz Joseph; from the late 19th century the Tuerkenschanzpark in Vienna, by G. Sennholz, H. Goldemund and W. Hybler; from the time around 1900 green areas on the structures covering the Wien river and the garden around the Empress Elisabeth Monument by F. Ohmann, and from the inter-war period the gardens by A. Esch surrounding villas in Vienna's residential districts.
While old parks and gardens are not covered by the protection of
monuments legislation in Austria, the Federal Office for the
Protection of Monuments sponsors protection projects for parks and
gardens and offers advice to garden owners. At present, new green
areas, parks and gardens are planned in the context of building
construction, traffic planning and the creation of urban recreation
areas (e.g. the Danube Island in Vienna). The modernisation of the
Stadtpark gardens in Villach and the redesigned green spaces on
Wienerberg hill constitute two examples of the modern approach to the
preservation and improvement of parks. The last International
Horticultural Show in Vienna was held in 1974. The professional
organisation of garden and landscape architects is domiciled in
Vienna. Parks and gardens in the various cities and municipalities are
in the care of municipal garden departments, while the federal parks
and gardens are supervised and maintained by the Federal Gardens
Administration.
Literature#
Soziales Gruen in Wien, 1963; H. Kaut, Wiener Gaerten, 1964; G. Hajós, Romantische Gaerten der Aufklaerung, 1989; Oesterreichische Gesellschaft fuer historische Gaerten (ed.), Historische Gaerten in Oesterreich, 1993; M. Auboeck and G. Ruland, Gruen in Wien, 1994.