Herrenhausen Gardens
As its name implies, it indeed became a large garden, comprising 50 hectares (120 acres) of lawns, hedges, walkways, and statues arranged in strict geometrical patterns.
Whereas Sophia's husband, Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Luneburg, planned its replacement with a large baroque palace, and began constructions with the nearby grand Gallery building, their son, elector George Louis, who in 1714 succeeded to the British throne as King George I, gave the palace project up and concentrated on water features.
[6][7][8] The ruins of the palace were almost completely torn down after the war; the outside staircase once leading up to the entrance was salvaged[9] from the debris and moved next to the Orangerie building where it can be seen today.
The focal point of the garden is the Great Fountain which can, with optimal weather conditions, reach a maximum height of 80 metres (260 ft).
She modified the three-roomed grotto in the northwestern section of the garden, which had served as a store room in the eighteenth century, by adding various items, including crystals, minerals, glass and seashells.
Between 2001 and 2003, when the exhibit opened, de Saint Phalle and her coworkers covered the walls and interior with mosaics of molded glass and mirrors.
De Saint Phalle's intention for this exhibit was that the visitors could use the grotto as a cool retreat on hot summer days while at the same time being enchanted by the decorations.
The garden once served more than an aesthetic purpose; it was used to experiment with the breeding in the northern climate of Lower Saxony of plants normally native to southern lands.
As a result, the silkworms located in the nearby city of Hamelin that were used in the production of royal silk began to be fed with Herrenhäuser mulberry leaves in 1706.
Work on the garden's mausoleum, also designed by Laves, lasted from 1842 to 1847; King Ernest Augustus, who died one year after completion, was interred there with his wife Queen Frederica.
[12][better source needed] Among them are the remains of John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, his daughter Anna Sophie (1670–1672), Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Luneburg and his wife Sophia of the Palatinate, their younger son Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany and Princess Charlotte of Clarence (1819–1819), daughter of William IV of the United Kingdom.
Built by King George I of Great Britain for his daughter Anna Louise in 1720, as of 2023[update] that building is used by his grandson Ernst August as his private residence.
