Detail of the palace garden, Rastatt Favorite Palace

Native and exotic treesThe dendrologicaltour

The tour includes 49 unique tress, some native, some exotic. They are labeled with signs modeled after those used in the 1920s. An overview of the tour can be obtained for free at the palace ticket office.

Sessile oak by the lake in the palace park, Favorite Palace

Sessile oak by the lake.

Native trees

Several linden and beech trees surviving in the garden today are from the 18th century. The sessile oak (Quercus petraea) by the pond is one of the more distinctive trees on the property. Other oaks in the neighboring forested area, the former pheasant garden, are 240 to 300 years old. Oaks were a popular choice for plantings in fenced hunting forests, since the acorns served as food for the game.

RASTATT FAVORITE PALACE, Dendrological tour tour overview

Overview.

Exotic trees

Johann Michael Schweyckert created the English landscape garden. He brought with him many seeds from his trip to England that were still unknown in Germany at the time. In the late 18th century, for example, Asian species, such as the Japanese pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) or the ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), or even the black pine (Pinus nigra) native to Asia Minor and Southern Europe, were novel.

American sweetgum in the palace garden, Rastatt Favorite Palace

American sweetgum in the palace garden.

American trees

A whole range of trees are from North America, such as the American tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), the redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) or the umbrella tree (Magnolia tripetala), with its giant blossoms and glowing red seed heads. The American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is one of the trees that contributes significantly to the bright color display during the North American “Indian summer.” If the fall is sufficiently warm, the specimen in the palace garden will also turn a striking red.

Want a bite to eat after the tour? The Favorite Palace's café kitchen is famous!