Rose Garden @museum.de

F: Breathe in the sweet scent of roses and enjoy the wonderful view over the Jagst valley.

M: Your way here led through a pergola passage. It was laid out early on, when the grounds were transformed into an English landscape garden. But for quite some time, the feature had disappeared. In 1998, Prince Kraft again invested a great deal of energy into restoring the castle and gardens to their former state. He had the pergola passage rebuilt from the old plans. The trees that provide the cooling shade are hornbeams.

F: But now let’s talk about the rose garden: it is laid out on two levels with red and pink flowering roses, and there are rose bushes against the wall on the left. What a scent! The shrub roses are “Rosa Macrantha “Raubritter”, which translates as “robber barons”, and they have pink globular flowers. The rose varieties you see here also grow in the Baroque Garden, of which you’ll get a glimpse shortly.

M: If you walk on, you’ll see an old, gnarled tree on your left. It is a mulberry, a tree that normally grows in subtropical regions. But on its current site, up against the wall that reflects the heat, it’s been coming along splendidly. Tsar Nicholas the Second of Russia presented it to Prince Ernst the Second and Princess Alexandra as a wedding gift in 1896. It’s been here ever since – for more than 125 years. In summer, when it sheds its berries, the ground beneath is stained blood red.

F: On the right, in front of the castle café, there’s a Japanese cherry tree. In spring, it’s a mass of pink blossoms for about ten days. And then the stunning cherry blossom display is over. It’s the time of year when people in Japan celebrate Hanami – the cherry blossom festival.

M: At the next stop, you’ll have a chance to see our castle café. Please walk on to the terrace.