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Barockgarten Großsedlitz – history
The Barockgarten Großsedlitz lies in Heidenau, on a rise above the Elbe valley between Dresden and Pirna. Terraces, two orangeries, some 60 sandstone figures and the famous flight of steps known as “Stille Musik” – “Silent Music” – are what make it special. It was never finished – and that is precisely what makes it such a remarkable witness to the age of Augustus the Strong.
Wackerbarth and Augustus the Strong
From 1719 Count August Christoph von Wackerbarth had a retirement residence with a garden laid out here – at times up to 1000 soldiers were working on it. In 1723 Augustus the Strong bought the estate, but kept this secret until 1726 because the state coffers were low. On 3 August 1727 he celebrated the feast of the Polish Order of the White Eagle here. In 1732 the work was halted – only about a third of the planned grounds had been completed.
Silent Music and bitter oranges
The “Stille Musik” staircase takes its name from the music-making cherubs that adorn it. In the winter of 1928 to 1929 all the tub plants froze to death, some of them dating back to Augustus's time; it was not until 1997 that orange trees came here again, from Tuscany. Today, according to the garden administration, this is the largest collection of bitter oranges in the German-speaking world. In Pöppelmann and Longuelune, the same master builders worked here as at Pillnitz and the Zwinger.
Orangeries and golden apples
The Upper Orangery was designed by Johann Christoph Knöffel in 1720/21, the longer Lower Orangery by Zacharias Longuelune, completed by 1727. In earlier times up to 1,250 orange trees spent the winter in them, along with myrtles, bay, pomegranates and figs. The citrus fruits stood for the golden apples of the Hesperides – and so for Hercules and princely virtue. Today, from May to September, the bitter oranges stand in rows in front of the Lower Orangery; in winter up to 400 tub plants move indoors at 5 to 8 degrees.
Figures and water features
More than 60 figures and vases stand in the garden, 24 of them sandstone originals: the four seasons, the four continents, the four elements – probably by the court sculptor Johann Christian Kirchner – and eight pairs of lovers from mythology, presumably by Johann Benjamin Thomae. Down in the woods lies the woodland cascade with the “Steinernes Meer” (“Sea of Stone”) basin; it was meant to become a lively axis of flowing water and, like so much here, was left unfinished. Since 1995 the figures have been carefully restored.
After Augustus the Strong
In the Seven Years' War the Prussians had a headquarters here, and the palace was badly damaged; in 1871 the dilapidated remains were demolished and a smaller house was built, today's Friedrichschlösschen with its café. King John had the garden preserved from 1846, and in 1992 the Free State of Saxony took over the grounds and restored them extensively. Since 2022 the garden has been on the “Red List” of endangered monuments – because of a planned technology park nearby that could spoil the sightlines and disrupt the water supply.
As of: 10/2026
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