From Sanssouci to Peacock Island: Germany's greatest landscape artist

Prussian King Frederick II built the palace of "no worries" in Rococo style as a summer residence in 1747. Nearly a century later, Frederick William IV renovated and expanded the castle, bringing in landscape architect Peter J. Lenné to create the castle gardens and parks in the surrounding neighborhoods of Potsdam. Lenné died 150 year ago on January 23, 1866.

The park surrounding the Sanssouci Palace are a huge draw for tourists the world over. Local residents of Potsdam and nearby Berlin cite the gardens as one of their most beloved day trips, many getting lost for hours on the greened pathways.

Potsdam is also home to the impressive neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace, which sits just above the Havel River. Originally designed as a summer residence for Emperor William I, the castle was constructed from 1833 to 1849 using plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Working in tandem, Lenné integrated the royal gardens between the castle and along the river, his landscapes complimenting Schinkel's style.

Lenné's idea of an art village came to fruition at the beginning of 1826 when Frederick William III gave orders requesting a "Russian Colony" to be built as a monument to Tsar Alexander I. At the same time, the idea was conceived for a sculpture dedicated to the fruit culture in Prussia. The resulting 12 homesteads and guardhouse were made a World Heritage culture site in 1999.

Another World Heritage cultural site that can be credited to Peter J. Lenné is the landscape of the Peacock Island, or Pfaueninsel, located in the Havel River just south of Berlin. Working together with the architect of Sacrow's Church of the Redeemer near Potsdam, Lenné shaped the surrounding park and bay using sketches from King Frederick William IV, who wanted them built in the shape of a ship.

An Italian villa in a southern-inspired landscape was the dream of Prince Carl of Russia. After a trip through Italy in 1823, the 21-year-old prince decided to realize his wishes with the help of architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The resulting Glienicke Palace near Berlin was landscaped by Lenné, who had already laid the tree-filled groundwork for the previous residents.

Originally designed as a landscape garden for the Friedrichsfelde Castle in 1821, Peter Josef Lenné arranged all three buildings on the grounds in Berlin's East. Since 1955, the facilities have been taken over by a "Tierpark," a small zoo.

Alexander von Humboldt opened Germany's first zoo in 1844 with gardens moulded by Lenné. The first residents were animals out of King Frederick William IV's menagerie as well as those donated to the king. As time has passed, the facilities have changed and expanded, but there are still touches of Lenné to be found.

Peter Joseph Lenné began shifting his focus to Berlin after 1840; a decade later he shaped the famous Landwehrkanal. Bookmarked by green paths, the canal wanders through the city and served as model for future canals, including the Luisenstädtischen and the Berlin-Spandauer canals. Berliners became such fans they gave him the loving nickname, "Muck Peter."

An English garden compliments the Boitzenburg Castle, situated on an island in Uckermark. Known as the "Neuschwanstein of the East," it is a fairy tale palace that gives Bavaria's crown jewel a run for its money. Originally belonging to the Arnim family, the castle was used in former East Germany as a place of relaxation and has since been converted into a hotel.

Lenné designed gardens at more than 120 residences from 1821 to 1840, including those at Basedow Castle in the hilly region known as the Mecklenburgische Schweiz. This landscaped park near Malchin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was created in 1835 and is one of the largest parks designed by Lenné and contains ancient varieties of trees.

Not limited to Prussia, Lenné drafted a prize-winning idea in 1859 for the Ringstrasse, an expansion of Vienna's inner city. It was the natural broadening of the artistic spectrum for the designer who had spent much of the 1850s creating designs for cities like Lubeck, Aachen, Munich, Koblenz, and Bad Oeynhausen, as well as Cologne's botanical gardens.