Ecological implications

Citrus fruits are most commonly grown in large, monocultural plantations. The ecological implications are vast: the citrus plants thirst for water alone can have a destabilizing effect on local ecosystems. To produce enough oranges for one litre of orange juice, plants will require roughly twenty-two litres of water.

The large monocultures are also susceptible to a wide variety of vermin and pests. This, naturally, leads to widespread usage pesticides and fungicides, to secure stable levels of production. It should not be surprising that these can leave behind ecologically damaging residue, especially as a large part of global citrus production is located in poorer and less well-regulated parts of the world.

Continuing the Myth

The picture of Hercules being offered a laurel wreath that you just saw is taken from Giovanni Baptista Ferraris Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu libri quatuor (Hesperides, or the Cultivation and uses of the Golden Apples). This book is the first published treatise on citrus fruit. While it mostly deals with practical questions on the cultivation of citrus fruit and botanical descriptions, Ferraris was also intent to provide an explanation on how the golden fruits had arrived in his native Italy.

To do this, he continued the ancient myth: Hercules theft had desecrated the divine garden. The Hesperides, Aegle, Arethusa and Hesperthusa were forced to leave the garden, and took a single Citron, Lemon and Bitter-Orange tree with them. Favourable winds then carried them to Italy, where they decided to settle.

Ferrari was also eager to explain the mutations and crossbreeds of citrus fruit. Since a scientific, or in Ferraris words "philosophical", explanation left many questions unanswered, he once more turned to a self-created myth.

He tells the tale of young Harmonillus, whom the god Apollo invites to Mount Parnassus in order to develop his singing voice. However, the jealous Muses Urania and Thalia scheme against Harmonillus, who is turned into a citron-tree by Apollo. The tree itself bears fruit in the form of human fingers (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, also known as "Buddha’s hand").

In 1708 and 1714, Johann Christoph Volkamer, a merchant and citrus-lover from Nuremberg, published his "Nürnbergische Hesperides" (roughly translated: "Nurembergian Hesperides" or "Hesperides of Nuremberg"), a two-volume treatise on citrus-fruit. This was the first entirely German monograph on citrus-fruit. Just like Ferrari, Volkamer paid homage to the myth of Hercules and the Hesperides.

The cover page shows Noris, personification of Nuremberg, as she is presented with gifts of lemons, citrons and bitter-oranges by the Hesperides. In the foreground, we can see "Vatter Pegnitz" (roughly translated: "Old Pegnitz" or "Father Pegnitz"), a river god representing the river of the same name, which crosses Nuremberg. Far in the background, to the right, we can spot a statue of Hercules, with the slain dragon Ladon at his feet - a clear sign that Volkamer saw Nuremberg as the new home of the Hesperides and their fruit.

The aforementioned Johann Christoph Volkamer, on the other hand, would put botany at the centre of his treatise. The impassioned collector spent vast amounts of effort (and money) on cultivating different citrus-fruit in his Nuremberg garden, as well as ordering fruit that were unknown to him from Italy. He would then draw them in great detail, often including branches, buds and blossoming flowers. In the finished books, the fruit were combined with landscapes, which often lead to bizarre and surrealistic compositions of gigantic fruit seemingly hovering in the sky.

The Princely Orangery

The Orangery as a specific structure was mainly the domain of Princes and noblemen more generally. The buildings had their own heating, to keep the citrus-plants, now grown in movable tubs, warm during the winter. In summertime, the tubs could be brought out into the garden.

In this example from Erlangen, the Orangery was conceived as part of the princely palace itself. As such, it had to be ready to be used during representative functions such as dances or banquets and also included apartments for visitors. The never completed second building was supposed to house the palace's chapel.

The Orangery as part of a sloped construction

When necessary due to large differences in height, it was also possible to integrate an orangery into a hillside slope. The most famous example is, of course, the Orangery of Versailles, built just below the Parterre du midi. From the parterre, a visitor can descend the stairs that flank the orangery, accompanied by a breath-taking view of the many citrus-plants arranged below. At the same time, the stairs act as an enclosure, trapping additional heat and thus contributing to a climate favourable to citrus.

Orangery Culture during the 19th century

In the 19th century, the Rhineland, as well as Benrath Palace, became part of Prussia. The Palace was used as a residence for the local military commanders, usually members of the ruling Hohenzollern dynasty. The most prominent examples of this are Prince Frederick of Prussia (1794-1863) and his wife, Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Prussia (1799-1882), who lived in the palace for several years. During this time, the importance of the orangery among courtly functions was still very large. So large, in fact, that more than 3000 citrus and other exotic plants were kept at Benrath Palace.