Water art

In the Great Garden, supplying water to the numerous water features—and especially to the Great Fountain—posed a major problem in the 17th century. Even the experienced fountain master Cadart gave up on this task. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz finally came up with the idea in 1696 to dam the Leine River, build a connection to the garden, and use the river’s drop to power a water-lifting mechanism. But it was not until twenty years later that the English engineer Benson succeeded.

Technical monument

The Baroque waterwheels and pumps were completely renovated around 1860. The imposing “new” water wheels and pumps at the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen Water Art, now nearly 150 years old, are an outstanding technical monument. They are still fully functional and today regulate the water level of the Graft canal surrounding the Great Garden using water from the Leine River. However, the entire facility was in need of renovation and could not be entered or visited for many years.

The renovation of the building and technology was completed at the end of 2020, but the outdoor facilities are not quite finished yet. The Wasserkunst will soon be open to visitors again.