The Habsburgs have always been dedicated to the care and cultivation of nature in the form of gardens. The requirements for garden design changed in line with the size of the residences and the tastes of the time.

The gardens served as places of pleasure and relaxation, but were also a means of demonstrating power and wealth. This exhibition highlights stylistic influences and fashions in garden design, as well as the competition for the best gardeners, artists, and engineers.

The Baroque garden was also a reflection of Baroque society. This is because pleasure gardening, a luxurious hobby of the aristocracy, involved considerable expense. The creation and maintenance of the gardens required considerable financial resources as well as armies of gardeners and day laborers.

Taking the gardens of Schloss Hof Estate as its starting point, the exhibition explores various aspects that characterized Baroque gardens. Which design elements, such as sculptures or plants, were used? The exhibition also focuses on technical innovations that served the princely pleasures in the gardens, such as water features, fireworks, etc.

The synthesis of the arts of the Baroque garden combines sciences such as geometry and botany with a sensibility for aesthetics and order. It is a perfect interplay of nature and architecture – and is an experience for all the senses.

No wonder the art of perfect order experienced in Baroque artistic horticulture still casts its magic spell on us even today.