Fruit tree plantations in the landscape design
Fruit cultivation has a tradition spanning over 200 years in the small state of Anhalt. It flourished under the auspices of Prince Leopold III. Friedrich Franz, the economists and agriculturalists von Raumer and Holzhausen. It was used as a means of increasing the economic efficiency of agricultural businesses and assumed an important function in landscape aesthetics.
Orchards along the roads, field tracks, flood dams, in the park grounds, in the fields and meadows and in private gardens became a trademark of the emerging garden landscape (Lott, 1991).
Orchard cultivations in the park grounds in Georgium, Wörlitz and Kühnau Park passed on cultivation methods and instructions on upkeep. This knowledge has been preserved to the present day. General fruit cultivation had already conquered its own defined niche in broad circles of the population and in the landscape when neighbours of Anhalt-Dessau started to become interested.
Today, there is a dearth of this important structural element in the Garden Realm, richly blossoming fruit trees. Comparatively speaking, there are very few orchards left as testimonies to the 200 year history of landscape design. Attempts have been made to bring about a revival since the last decade of the 20th century by reconstructing alleys and expansive orchards. The fruit is harvested, processed and the products are sold regionally.
These days, the aspect relating to cultural history is united with the current ideas of nature conservation. In fruit plantations, particular attention is paid to the preservation of traditional sorts of fruit, some of which have become rare, and on the preservation of wild fruit in the meadows.
The lavish blossoms in the orchards are becoming increasingly popular along roads and in the villages. In order to lend consideration to the distinct changes in the traffic situation, the trees that are selected do not bear fruit that hangs in a manner likely to endanger traffic safety. The enrichment of the landscape in the Garden Realm as a result of the fruit cultivation according to a historical role model is a process that has started and has a set place in decisions intended to enhance the value of the landscape. FÖLV is in possession of records and assessments of the historical orchards in the Garden Realm. The biosphere reserve administration also has a list of the orchard meadows in the Garden Realm.