Friends of the Castle of Freÿr / Meuse (Belgium)

Looking from the Upper Garden to Het Loo Palace

• The gardens at Het Loo have their own patterns quite different from those at Versailles; walls are everywhere: surrounding the estates but also separating its different parts such as in the King's and the Queen's gardens. They give a sense of privacy not found in Versailles.
• Striking is the manner in which the lower and upper gardens are separated: by a lawn of two rows of trees on each side and perpendicular to the major axis, but with clean trunks so that the visitor can see through the alley from the lower to the upper garden and vise-versa.
• This boundary does not simply enhance the intimate character but also deepens the gardens to such a point that the visitor forgets that the formal gardens cover only 7 ha on a distance less than 300 meters.
• This deepening effect by a semi transparent alley perpendicular to the majors axis is a unique feature and quite different from Le Nôtre approach to solve the same perspective problem.
• The only concession found in the garden to Le Nôtre principals is that the major axis is pursued behind the colonnade through the surrounding woods.