Medieval Garden

This medieval garden was laid out in 1937 by the museum’s founder, Hans Haug, in the former courtyard of the Hôtellerie du Cerf. It is inspired by the tradition of medieval gardens handed down by 15th-century Rhenish painters and engravers. It is also influenced by the precepts of the theologian Albertus Magnus. Two of his works – Plant Life in Seven Books and Naturalia – list the curative properties of plants and describe in detail how a garden should be set out.

In the centre of the garden are nine beds, arranged three by three, for flowers, medicinal herbs, and aromatic plants and seasonings. The pleasure garden also features a winding stream, an arbour of vines, rose bushes and a grassy bank. The garden – a metaphor for paradise – also provides an open-air setting for stone carvings from various periods.