45th Conference of the Working Group on Orangeries in Germany

This year’s conference will focus on the heritage of Lusatia and Silesia, as well as on the European connections of the orangery culture of these regions. The programme includes presentations devoted to the history of orangeries, their preservation and restoration, the iconography of historic garden complexes, contemporary approaches to the conservation and use of orangery buildings, and practical aspects of maintaining collections of exotic plants. The conference will bring together researchers, heritage conservation specialists, landscape architects, horticulturists, and representatives of cultural institutions from Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Particular attention will be devoted to territories located east of the Oder River, which have so far remained relatively underrepresented in studies of European orangery culture.

The Eduard Petzold Foundation will be represented by Łukasz Przybylak and Jacek Kuśmierski. Jacek Kuśmierski will deliver a paper entitled “Glass Treasures in the Heart of Europe – The History and Current State of Preservation of Orangeries in Eastern Lusatia”, focusing on the development and present condition of the region’s historic orangery buildings. Łukasz Przybylak will present a lecture entitled “From Wernher’s Engravings to Weber’s Negatives – Three Centuries of Orangery Culture in Silesia through the Region’s Most Important Iconographic Sources”, illustrating the evolution of Silesian orangeries through an analysis of visual sources dating from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. In addition, Łukasz Przybylak will chair a scientific session devoted to historic and contemporary buildings designed for orangery plants, examined from the perspective of sustainable development.

The conference programme includes not only paper sessions but also study visits and practical workshops. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the historic garden and orangery complex at Branitz, associated with Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, one of the most distinguished European landscape designers of the nineteenth century. The event will also feature discussion panels devoted to the identification of citrus plants, the challenges of adapting and using historic orangery buildings, and modern solutions for growing media and container plant cultivation. An important aspect of the conference will be the exchange of knowledge and experience among specialists representing various academic disciplines and practical fields of heritage conservation.

The conference will conclude with a scientific excursion to some of the most significant orangery sites in the Polish part of Lusatia. Participants will visit, among others, the restored orangery at Żagań Palace, the historic orangery and park at Zatonie, and the Palm House in Zielona Góra. This programme highlights the cross-border character of the initiative and underlines the importance of Polish–German cooperation in the research, conservation, and promotion of garden heritage.

The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the INTERREG VI A Brandenburg–Poland 2021–2027 Cooperation Programme and the Small Projects Fund of the Spree-Neiße-Bóbr Euroregion.