Without Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, Frederick the Great’s art-loving favourite sister, this garden would not exist. Between 1744 and 1748, she had one of Europe’s most unusual gardens laid out around the medieval Zwernitz Castle: not a manicured Baroque garden, but the wild rocky landscape of the Franconian Jura itself, only gently enhanced.
“Nature itself was the architect,” Wilhelmine wrote to her brother. The name originated in 1746, when a lady-in-waiting is said to have exclaimed upon seeing it: “Ah, c’est sans pareil!” – “That is without equal!” The Margrave subsequently had the place named Sanspareil. In the Franconian dialect, however, there is no trace of the gentle French pronunciation.
🎭 Ruined Theatre & Oriental-style Structure
At the heart of the complex lies the rock theatre, a blend of grotto and ruin: the auditorium lies beneath a mighty natural rock arch, whilst the stage and scenery are built of rubble stone. Also preserved are the Oriental Pavilion with its curved roof and the old kitchen building.
📖 A garden like a novel
Wilhelmine interpreted the rocks and grottos, drawing on a French Bildungsroman, as stages in the life of Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. Names such as the Calypso Grotto or the Mentor Grotto still serve as reminders of this literary theme today.
🕒 Visiting
The rock garden is situated near Wonsees and is open to the public free of charge. Zwernitz Castle stands right next to it. The site is managed by the Bavarian Palace Administration.