Lovely Ruin Decorations

In the 18th century ruins became fashionable as decorations in gardens and parks. These artificial ruins were called follies and should give the illusion of older traditions. First there were used classic Roman style ruins to represent a kind of bucolic Tuscan landscape. Later the taste changed more to gothic ruins looking like medieval monasteries and castles.

So it shouldn't be surprising that in Great Britain, the homeland of garden architecture, still landscaping companies are offering garden follies.



To be serious, I was surprised indeed when I stumbled upon this website. But then I found it a good idea to offer these gothic walls to "provide a charming setting for quiet contemplation or even early evening cocktails".

Faked Roman Ruin

In the rococo garden of the Schwetzingen Palace in Germany can be seen the roman ruin of a temple of Mercury.


But it was neither roman nor a temple, it was already constructed as a ruin (between 1784 and 1787). The classical taste of that time loved roman ruins decorating a bucolic landscape.