Azalea and Rhododendron Park in Kromlau, Germany


Kromlau is a small and charming village located in the municipality of Gablenz, Germany, less than 6 kilometres from the Polish border. In Kromlau is one of the largest landscape parks in Saxony. The park lies in the Muskau Arch area (learn more at: Muskau Arch - UNESCO Global Geopark). The park is a beautiful example of an English garden and has many small ponds and lakes. The Azalea and Rhododendron Park in Kromlau was commissioned by Friedrich Herrmann Rötschke, the knight of Kromlau, in the middle of the 19th century. 



The Rötschke's landscape park was created after location of Fürst-Pückler-Park in Muskau (lick learn more at: Muskau Park - World Heritage Site). The "little Pückler" spared a little bit of money. Rare woody plants, mythological and rococo statues, basalt caves as well as a bow bridge of stone blocks and basalt stone were design elements of his park. He also built the hunting lodge in the park and surrounded it with flower beds. 



In April 1889 the park and the estate were bought by Friedrich XI. Leopold, Count of and to Egloffstein-Arklitten. The park has been kept in Rötschke's grounds but it has been enriched with the planting of rhododendrons and azaleas. Until the beginning of the 20th century the Kromlau' inhabitants lived mainly from the agriculture and forestry, later they found work in the mining industry or in the glass industry. In 1966, a pond from a former brown coal mine was transformed into a bathing pond. Today the district of Kromlau is a very popular excursion destination for tourists from near and far. During your visit in Kromlau you also need to see the beautiful Rhododendrons Gorge. There is also a Swiss-style Kavalierhaus (the hunting lodge) and a Kromlauer Schloss (Kromlau Mansion) from the 1860's.



What makes Azalea and Rhododendron Park so special is Rakotzbrücke (Rakotz Bridge). Commissioned in 1860 the thin arch stretching over the waters of the Rakotzsee (Rakotz Lake) is built out of varied stone, especially basalt. The bridge's artificially-formed basalt columns were specially shipped from distant quarries. The Rakotzbrücke is known as a “Devil’s Bridge,” due to the colloquialism that such bridges were so dangerous or miraculous that they must have been built by Satan. The bridge is decorated with thin basalt rocks spires. In addition, the parabola of the bridge is designed to be one-half of a perfect circle, so that when the waters are still and the light is right, it creates the illusion of a complete stone circle. Today, the bridge can still be viewed in the park, but crossing is prohibited in order to preserve it.




The park has no entry fee and can be accessed anytime. You must see also the artificial caves named "Heaven" (it was built from white limestone rocks) and "Hell" (it was built from black basalt rocks) and the Judge's Chair (it was built from basalt rocks). 



The main parking area is conveniently located in the village of Kromlau. The Rakotzbrücke (Devil's Bridge) is a short walk from the free car parking area. The tourist information office is located in the Mansion.

Comments

  1. Beautiful! Thank you for taking us here.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/05/chapter-book-club-picnic.html

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  2. What a beautiful and peaceful place.

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  3. Wow, what beautiful photography. A lovely place to go for a long walk too.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ☺

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  4. Einfach nur wunderschön. Tolle Motive super Bilder. Liebe Grüße und schönen Vatertag Susa aus Hamburg

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  5. I agree with Fi--- a beautiful and peaceful place.

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  6. Looks like a fascinating place!

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  7. Wow.. the park looks so good.. and so do all your pics :) <3 Cheers!!

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  8. Amazing place. Awesome pics.

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  9. It is so beautiful, anybody will be delighted to see the place. And i also love your photos. Thanks.

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  10. Kolejne niesamowite miejsce, dziękuję za wycieczkę, chociaż na zdjęciach:)

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  11. What a lovely place so beautiful and serene nice photos :-)

    Have a tanfastical week :-)

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  12. These are incredible scenes--what a fantastic place! I always look forward to spring with the azaleas and rhodos in bloom. This park also had wonderful buildings and scenery. I'm so glad you shared these photos with us!

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  13. Excellent photography of a beautiful place!

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  14. Wow.. nature at it's best... another lovely post :)

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  15. This is a very interesting park. The bridge is remarkable. I like the spires.

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  16. Es una maravilla de lugar ese puente es de ensueño. Gracias por mostrarlo con una fotografias tan bonitas.
    Saludos

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  17. What a famous park, thanks for sharing your great photos (a shame, that I never was there!)
    Greetings from Germany

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  18. Thank you for sharing! Such beauty!

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  19. Great series. Photos are beautiful, I like colous & light.

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  20. Miejsce piękne i zdjęcia też, pozdrawiam:)

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  21. Beautiful. The bridge is amazing.

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  22. Gorgeous photography. I love the Rakotzbrücke - such a magical effect!

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  23. Stunning photos - the first is like from a fairy tale!

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  24. What a phantastic scenery! Your photos are amazing!

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  25. Thanks for sharing this beautiful park.

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  26. What a beautiful place! So serene also.
    Your photographs are also beautiful...

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  27. This looks more like a natural park to me. I'm not surprised to see such beauty in Germany. I envy you for living so close to these gorgeous placers. #TheWeeklyPostcard

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  28. What a remarkable place! I love that bridge and the other buildings are intriguing too.

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  29. Would you believe this only a few hours from our house and we haven't been yet? You've definitely inspired me to go! #wkendtravelinspiration

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  30. Such beautiful pictures and so interesting, I love German architecture there is something so pretty almost fairy sale about it, thanks so much for linking up #MondayEscapes x

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  31. What an exquisite area - that bridge in your first capture is stunning! We lived in Berlin, but have never been in the area close to the border (because while living in Berlin it was W-Berlin, surrounded by East Germany). Very happy to see it now through your eyes! And many thanks for sharing it with All Seasons this week:):)
    Also love the decorated roof line. So interesting! sorry your thumbnail pic did not work out - if you like to change it, give me a comment about it, then I'll delete your entry, so you can put in a new pic)Have a lovely week!

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  32. Nice to learn more about the Devil's bridge. Making it look like it was made of basaltic rocks is such a cool idea. It looks great.
    The shape is also a great idea.

    Awesome pictures!

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  33. I've seen the bridge here in lots and lots of photos, it's really something! #wkendtravelinspiration

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  34. Helpful info. Lucky me I discovered your website accidentally, and I'm
    shocked why this coincidence did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.

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  35. Just beautiful. would like to visit there someday.

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