The little Gunnebo Castle called, again - its powers of seduction (not least in form of delicious lunches served in the kitchen garden....) are still quite potent, it seems.
As I've written earlier, the little castle of Gunnebo together with its gardens really is a love story gone awfully wrong. Like a greedy mistress, it seduced and held its masters captured until all their means were exhausted, eventually driving them to bankruptcy and destitution. The story is touching - who doesn't love a dose of true madness? - and the buildings and gardens are a perfect example of late 18th century architecture inspired the Palladian villas of Italy and gardens of Louis XIV in France. A real pearl, and an escapist dream inspired by the southern latitudes of Europe, landed amongst the northern forests and shores of Sweden.
An 18th century drawing of Gunnebo; the orangerie on the right is under reconstruction for the moment; it will probably be completed next year.
Almost the same view today, only from another angle...
Sculptures still surround the pool seen in the pictures above.
Cows lazily grazing just south from the fountain pool.
Walking back on the side of the terraces of the formal gardens...
An unusual view towards the building from a little hill by the "castle" - that really is too small to be called so.
The kitchen gardens (in opposite direction from the hill where I took the previous photo).
I do love the kitchen gardens - so beautifully composed.
The handsome orangerie/green house again... I wrote about it even in my earlier Gunnebo post.
Just beautiful, couldn't help taking loads of pictures...
"Advanced horticultural science" - they still train the apples on trellises attached to the walls of the kitchen garden. Look at all the pears!
And back to the castle - it was lovely to stand in the shade under the main terrace (which you can see from the garden in the first picture).
And a final view from the terrace, with the fountain forming the focus of the central axis - Gunnebo is such a delightful little example of 17th/18th century European garden design, in the middle of the forests of southern Sweden.
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