Under the direction of Elector Carl Theodor (1724-1799) a garden complex was created in Schwetzingen based on the example of Versailles and is unequalled anywhere in Europe.
• the symmetrically designed French baroque garden with the Arion fountain in the center and
• the English landscape garden. This lies around the large pond and its arced canals in planned naturalness.
The baroque garden is divided into the parterre, hedge zone and forest section. An unusual feature in Schwetzingen is the circular parterre formed by the "Zirkelbauten" (Quarter-Circle Buildings) and the vine-covered galleries, which distinguishes it from all others of the period.
The Schwetzingen gardens, like all baroque gardens, are oriented on the center axis of the palace. The main avenue is the reference point for all parts of the gardens. This idea embodies the concept of the absolute ruler: All parts of the state are based on him; his glory shines like the sun over everything; his entire surroundings reflect his importance.
With his building and landscape architects Nicolas de Pigage and Friedrich Ludwig Sckell, Carl Theodor, with his love of art and the good things in life, realized a garden complex which shows the intellectual history and fashions stretching from the baroque to the Enlightenment to the Romantic period:
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• The gardens, with their use of antique mythology (e.g. in the Temple of Apollo and the figure of Arion on the dolphin), becomes a Baroque stage for courtly life.
• The reasonable, rationalistic view of the Enlightenment is reflected in the geometry of the circular parterre.
• In accordance with the ideas of the Romantic period, the concept of the gardens approaches nature with its imitation of natural moods and landscaped areas.
In all ages a multitude of fountains, cascades, lakes, ponds and channels bring movement into the gardens.
Statesmen, artists and scholars of the highest rank met at the Palatinate summer residence in Schwetzingen for the purpose of enjoying the opera performances and the magnificent courtly life. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave concerts here and Voltaire was a guest here. Schwetzingen later irresistibly attracted Romantics Friedrich Hölderlin and Freiherr von Eichendorff.
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And even today the world of the 18th century continues to live in the Schwetzingen Palace gardens. Thanks to untiring care and restoration of the garden complex, visitors can admire this jewel.