Palais Grosser Garten

Courtly Entertainment Culture

The Palais im Grossen Garten was built for the Saxonian Elector prince Johann Georg III.According to the opinion of his contemporaries he grew up at one of the "most luxurious and glamorous courts of Europe- imposing and gallant at the same time". The splendid and expensive court festivities, with which his father, the Elector Johann Georg II , showed off the power and wealth of his house, were well known beyond the borders of his country. The court was a focal point of European court culture, where music played an important role. One splurged on hiring expensive Italian castrates, musicians and conductors.Comedy, opera, musicals and ballets were part of the court calendar.As one of the first German princes the Elector had a separate theater built.Also Johann Georg III,who ascended to the Saxonian throne in 1680, actively promoted music and theater.There are nunerous historical sources describing theater performances and concerts,for which first class musicians were hired. Dresden was the first German court that employed female singers.While on a visit to Venice, the Elector had a primadonna abducted, which caused considerable diplomatic complications with her employer, the Duke of Mantua.The construction of the Palais im Grossen Garten shows that this Elector also used lavish festivities for representation.The Palais was conceived exclusively as a building for such activities and was in this respect unique in the empire.

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The Palais and garden were originally outside the city, which was huddled inside the city walls.The Palais is a Maison de Plaisance: a structure surrounded by nature, which served the court as a place for entertainment.It consists of only two large ballrooms and connecting smaller chambers, but has no living quarters.Originally the windows had no panes because the Palais was used only during the summer months, which also explains why there are no stoves.Examples of such open architectures are to be found in Italy where open loggias and pavillions are very pleasant during the hot summers.

In more northern climates this is not very practical- window panes were very soon added.The Palais im Grossen Garten was used for festivities whose scope exceeded the mere amusement of the court:In the baroque period the courtfest was also meant as a testimony to the refined taste, education and wealth of the ruler. Power and wealth were shown off by the theme of the entertainment and the lavishness of its execution.Since entertainment is an art form of little permanence, it was documented in great detail in pictures and descriptions. These could be sent to other courts and furthermore, could serve as examples for future festivities.Participants were, of course, the Elector and his family, guests from abroad, and members of the court- i.e.the Saxonian nobility.Within the program of entertainment, which was planned in great detail and rehearsed ahead of time, each participant had his exact place in accordance with his position at the court.Whether the participant stood close to the Elector, the kind of costume he was wearing and at which table he would be seated, this all reflected his rank.The Palais is a visual testimony to the purpose of the court festivities.It's expensive sandstone construction with sandstone decorations, it's huge ballroom with pink marble stucco columns, decorated with sculptures,stucco and valuable painted ceilings,documented the wealth of the Elector and his country.

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How should one picture an actual courtfest? In September 1719 the wedding of the future Elector Friedrich August and the Habsburg princess Maria Josepha took place.The celebration lasted four weeks and surpassed anything that had happened previously. Memories of the events are preserved in numerous pictures and written documents. Festivities occured almost daily. The central event was a series of seven festivals, each dedicated to a different planet. The Venusfest took place in the Grossen Garten on September 23.At 10 am the guests met at the Stadtschloss and went from there on horseback and in carriages to the Grossen Garten.

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In front of the Palais a contest of the ladies took place. They had to hit the center of a ring with a lance while driving by in their carriages. The bride, Maria Josepha was the winner. Her prize was a hairpin decorated with diamonds in the shape of a heart and a crown of diamonds.In the afternoon an opera ballet took place , performed by members of the court in the newly constructed open air theater close by.After the performance ended at dusk, the garden was illuminated with candles and torches. A festive dinner was served in the Palais.Afterwards one crossed the pond in gondolas. On the other side, in the Temple of Venus,a ball took place that lasted until morning.The Polish Magnate Antoni Poninski had taken part in the festivities and composed a letter of thanks to Elector August the Strong.The wedding "... surpassed the expectations of everyone and it can be said with certainty that everything that one could think of in antiquity, and what Italy and Frace were only able to provide in fragmented form, was presented here to total perfection....".He went on to write that usually such celebrations are only paid for by princes, but not planned by them. "Here, your Majesty has created everything yourself, the plan as well as the execution.... They are masterpieces not only of the mind but also of the hand of your Majesty.The past centuries are ashamed and the coming ones are despondent, knowing that they will never be able to achieve anything equal."