Schwetzingen. Cherry blossom garden

Last Updated on 23/01/2023

Not far from Speyer or Mannheim, on the way to Heidelberg, is the city of Schwetzingen.

There is a summer residence built for the electors of the Palatinate in the 18th century. The palace with the rococo-style theater has been partially preserved, but the main attraction, which claimed to be included in the UNESCO list, is the palace park, modeled after Versailles. In my opinion, UNESCO is maybe a little too much for them, but the park is really picturesque.

Castle Road (Burgenstrasse). Part 1. Mannheim – Eberbach
Castle Road. 2. From Zwingenberg to Bad Wimpfen
Castle Road. 3. From Sinsheim to Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Technik museum Sinsheim. IMAX cinema

A French regular park with a perspective, parterres, trimmed alleys and fountains – gradually, the further from the palace, the more, – transforms into an English landscape park with ponds, picturesque bridges, exotic garden buildings, including a mosque, a temple of Mercury, a bathing house in the style of an Italian villa.

How to get to Schwetzingen

Station is not far from the park, you reach it in 10 minutes.
Parking on the other hand is not always simple, because many people will walk in the park in the season.

I must warn you that since 2022 it is not possible to take pictures in the park for free. You must pay 80 euro for 10 people. And even for the money, that doesn’t include using tripods or shooting in the palace.

The park is very large. You can plan a 3-hour walk, and even longer with a visit to the palace.

First there was a hunting lodge that belonged to the Palatinate electors. In the 18th century they built a summer residence instead. Since 1803 Schwetzingen has belonged to Baden. Grand Dukes of Baden rarely used the palace and gardens as a summer residence. The palace and park remained also undamaged during the world wars. That is why we can admire them in all their glory and without change since 18th century.

Ruins Pavilion and Mosque Pavilion.

Another “forgotten” ruin at the other end of the park.

Sakura blossom

There are places in Württemberg where it is good to appear at a certain time: in Ludwigsburg and on the vineyards in autumn, on the island of Mainau – during the tulip bloom, in Wilhelma – in magnolias time (April).

But in Schwetzingen you need to look at the cherry blossoms. There is whole garden here. Sakura is a very popular plant – you can see it in the city centres, near houses. Here you find whole garden with flying petals.

The sakura garden is inside the walls and below the main park level. This is where we go:

The photos below refer to two different trips in different weather.

Daffodils are planted between cherry alleys, and a “mosque” looks out picturesquely in the background.

The central alley of the garden. From wet petals, it seems, it would be possible to mold a small snowman.

I tried to make a photos of petals blizzards, but almost nothing came of it.

Nearby cities and attractions: Speyer, Heidelberg, Neckar Valley (Castle Road – #Burgenstrasse) .
Map of German gardens and parks.