The memory landscape of Eduard Petzold

Abstract

The aim of this article is to answer the question of how the “memory landscape” of Eduard Petzold – one of the most eminent European garden designers of the nineteenth century – has been shaped from the late nineteenth century to the present day, and which narratives, practices, and material forms have determined his presence in social consciousness. The paper addresses a research gap by shifting the focus from the analysis of his design output to a reflection on the mechanisms of commemoration. Its original contribution lies in a synthetic juxtaposition of diverse forms of memory: writings, botanical nomenclature, commemorative sites, and contemporary initiatives and projects inspired by his legacy. The results demonstrate that the memory of Eduard Petzold has developed as a dynamic process based on selection, negotiation of meanings, and changing hierarchies of values, rather than as a straightforward record of his achievements. The analysis of the memory landscape reveals the mechanisms through which the history of landscape architecture reproduces, modifies, or marginalises the figures of its creators, thereby exposing the cultural and institutional conditions underlying the formation of its canons.