BRÜHL CASTLES - SCHLOSS AUGUSTUSBURG AND SCHLOSS FALKENLUST

The sumptuous Augustusburg residence, often simply called Brühl Castle, and the Falkenlust hunting lodge were built from 1725 and 1729 respectively, on the initiative of Clément-Auguste de Bavière (1700-1761), Elector and Archbishop of Cologne. Inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1984, this magnificent architectural ensemble, surrounded by vast gardens, was the first remarkable creation of the Rococo style in Germany. The two splendid castles with their dream parks were the wonderful result of a fruitful collaboration of German, Italian and French architects, painters, sculptors and stucco artists. In the 18th century, they served as a model for many German princely courts.

Inside Augustusburg Castle, you can admire the famous Balthasar Neumann Staircase (1687-1753), one of the masterpieces of this genius, who was one of the most important architects of the German Baroque and Rococo. Other important names linked to the castle are those of the architect Johann Conrad Schlaun (1695-1773) who started the construction of Augustusburg Castle in 1725, and François de Cuvilliés l'Ancien (1695-1768), architect of the Electorate Court of Bavaria, who had continued the development and decoration of the castle from 1728 onwards, to make it one of the most glorious residences of its time. In addition, he drew up plans for the country castle of Falkenlust, built between 1729 and 1737. It is to landscape gardener Dominique Girard (around 1680-1738) that we owe the vast gardens of the two castles. The enchanting decorative parterre of the Augustusburg garden, inspired by Girard's previous works, notably those of the Nymphenburg gardens in Munich and Schleissheim and the Belvedere in Vienna, seduces with its four fountains, followed by a mirror pond. Surrounded by geometric arrangements of plants, this part of the garden is nowadays considered one of the most authentic examples of an 18th century French-style garden.