North Garten (Nordgarten)

Surely you haven't seen the baroque embroideries of the north garden like this?
Surely you haven't seen the baroque embroideries of the north garden like this?

The North Garden is one of the oldest parts of the park. After the old corps de logis was built in 1704–1709 and the galleries and pavilions in 1712–15 under Duke Eberhard Ludwig, the steeply sloping land was formed into baroque-style terraces.

Duke Carl Eugen reduced the size of the terraces, had part of the valley area filled in in 1749 and added a circular area, avenues and lawns.

Around 1800, Duke Friedrich II refashioned the garden again, creating grassy terraces with ramps, which were generously adorned with pot plants, a square lawn and an avenue of plane trees on the axis between the old corps de logis and the palace Schloss Favorite.

Today, the North Garden can be seen as it was during Friedrich's reign. The only new touch is the baroque-style broderie parterre around a small lake with a central fountain, which was created by garden director Albert Schöchle on a levelled-out plane.

Ice house

At the edge of the pathway to the vault, the largest preserved ice house of any palace complex in southern Germany lies hidden in the steep hillside. Ice was once used to store and chill large quantities of food and drink for the royal household.
The ice house is a mighty vaulted circular cellar, measuring 32 feet high and 14 feet wide (1 foot = approx. 30 cm). Thick natural-stone walls and a covering of earth helped to keep it naturally cold. In winter, frozen water was cut from Monrepos lake and other ponds with saws and taken to the ice house. The ice was put into the ice house, which had a capacity of over 100 cubic metres, through a shaft at the top of the vault. A spiral staircase led up from the Ice Valley to a higher point of access from which the ice was removed. In summer, an additional layer of straw covered the ice house. The ice house was the baroque version of a refrigerator.

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