The Castle Gardens

The special charm of Husum Castle is further enhanced by the gardens surrounding the castle. The castle itself is separated from the surrounding area by a small moat.

In the times of Princess Augusta (1580-1639) and Princess Maria Elisabeth (1610-1684) the residence boasted a pleasure garden with an orangery, a pleasure house and a fruit and vegetable garden.

The “Little garden” also known as the “Duchess´ garden” can be found on the castle island. Here one could find peace and quiet while taking a stroll around the flower beds. During the reign of Princess Maria Elisabeth, wine and choice fruit were also cultivated.

The “Big Garden” lies in the north of the castle island. This garden was once divided by othoganal radiating axes. Both parts of the garden were kept in a baroque style by Princess Maria Elizabeth. After the Duchy Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf was passed on to Denmark in 1721, the castle dwindled in importance and the gardens were used as agricultural cropland, pasture, were partially rented out or simply ran to seed.

Finally the Town of Husum acquired the grounds in 1878 and had the area of the larger garden remodelled by the Hamburg landscape gardener Rudolph Jürgens (1850-1930). He recreated the garden into a nature-orientated park following English example.
Today, the castle park is famous for its crocus blossoms in the spring. Visitors come from near and far to marvel at a sea of violet crocus blossoms. The crocuses probably date from the reign of the princesses, who were well-known as passionate collectors of rare plants.

The garden area on the castle island has been recently relandscaped with the help of grants and money from sponsors. In the course of a competition, the landscape gardeners Kessler and Kremer from Flensburg, created a design combining historic radiating axes and flower beds with more modern elements. The gardens are maintained by trainees from the Theodor-Schäfer Training Centre, who are thus able to gain experience in working in historic gardens.