Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

The melancholic and changeable character of the Baltic Sea has often been used in the painting of the romantic period. The sea and its beaches were also an important composition element as well as a supplement of Baltic coastal gardens which were founded in West Prussia in the 19th century. Gardens set up on the coast used various moods of nature, as well as extensive and beautiful sea landscapes, often leading to nostalgia. The spectacle of the sea was becoming an element of a park: a real element – a spatial part, absorbing attention and senses, as well as a subconscious one – creating atmosphere and leading to nostalgia. The landscape garden located next to the palace in Rutzkau (currently Rzucewo), which was designed by Peter Joseph Lenné in the middle of the 19th century, is an exceptional example of using the sea and the beach space. In Zoppot (Sopot) or Oliva (nowadays Gdańsk-Oliwa) various manors and coastal villas were accompanied by gardens with vistas and view openings overlooking the sea and the beach. Another interesting group of coastal gardens included spa parks in Danzig (Gdańsk) or Zoppot as well as in other smaller spa locations. The analysis of the seascape and the sea as integral elements in coastal gardens shows new aspects of landscape art, and develops studies of landscape architecture in West Prussia. This side of the topic of Baltic coastal gardens in West Prussia has not been the subject of comprehensive research until now. The knowledge about this link between garden and water is very specific and important for history of landscape architecture in West Prussia (formerly a German region, currently a part of Poland). Also acknowledging the heritage of Prussian gardens has great impact on their conservation and preservation.

Authors

• dr inż. arch. Anita Jaśkiewicz-Sojak link open in new tab ,
• mgr inż. arch. Maura Zaworska link open in new tab