1736: Start of Classical Era
Under the reigns of Prince Leopold I (reigned from to 1640-1705) and Prince Leopold Freidrich Franz III, Dessau flourished in city planning and architecture. Under Prince Leopold I, known as the “Alte Dessauer” [1] the city received Baroque boulevards and a customs wall near the palace gardens. Prince Franz III continued many of his grandfather Leopold’s improvements, including plans generated by Gerhard Ulrich Aton Vieth in 1809 that resemble the roads of Rome. German architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff (born in 1736) accompanied Prince Franz III to tour England, France, and Italy from 1765 to 1767 and served as inspiration for both the architect and prince. Erdmannsdorff believed that ‘“Each small farmhouse of farmstead building [had] the same main parts as a royal palace, namely walls, doors, windows, a cornice, and a roof” and aimed to ensure that all architecture was completed to a high standard [2]. |
Above: Map of Dessau c. 1700s [4]
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Above: View of one of the Worlitz Gaden castles [4]
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Late Classicism1791: Late Classicism in Dessau, Neoclassical
Another attribute of Dessau’s classicism era is beautification of the city through nature (Landesversicherung). The Oranienbaum and Mosigkau palace grounds of Leopold I were modeled after Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam and gave way to the design of Worlitz Park: one of the oldest English gardens in Germany and Europe designed by Erdmannsdorff and landscape architect Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck. In 1812, theatre painter Carlo Ignazio Pozzi was appointed government building officer of Dessau, and oversaw much of Dessau’s construction industry during the 1800s. He continued Erdhmannsdorff’s classicist style architecture along with architect Gottfried Bandhauer [5] |