The Evolution of Garden Design Over the Centuries
: Special Exhibition 2026
The exhibition "Crafted Paradises" shows how garden design has evolved over the centuries. This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, the Touriseum—the South Tyrol Museum of Tourism—and the curatorial team in Vienna.
Gardens and parks are designed green spaces. They serve recreational purposes and reflect our relationship with nature. Their design, maintenance, and use depend on how people interpret this relationship. Gardens and parks have taken many forms over the centuries, as can be seen in plans, views, books, and photographs. In 2023, the Austrian National Library in Vienna organized an exhibition on this topic using items from its extensive collection, which will be supplemented here by examples of Merano’s garden culture and art.
The special exhibition illustrates how garden design has evolved over the centuries: from the strictly laid-out gardens of the Renaissance, through the magnificent Baroque gardens, to the English landscape garden. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen new themes come to the fore in landscape architecture. There is a particular focus on Merano: as early as the 19th century, both public and private green spaces had been deliberately created in the city. The emerging health tourism industry became an important driving force for the development of gardens and landscapes in Merano.
This development culminated in 2001 with the opening of the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, which this year are celebrating their 25-year success story.
Source (April 2026): www.trauttmansdorff.it
Client: © Touriseum - The South Tyrol Museum of Tourism
Project: Doc GmbH
Photos: © Andreas Tauber
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