Memory of the garden heritage

Nuo Viduramžių sodas buvo neatsiejama Europos pilių, vienuolynų, didikų rezidencijų aplinkos dalis. Rašytiniuose šaltiniuose „karaliaus sodas“ Vilniaus pilyje minimas nuo XVI a. 4 dešimtmečio. Nors archeologiniai pilies teritorijos tyrimai neatskleidė tikslios sodų buvimo vietos, kultūriniame sluoksnyje aptikta reliktų, kuriuos galima priskirti Viduramžių pilies, renesansinių ir barokinių rūmų sodų paveldui. Straipsnyje pristatoma autentiška Vilniaus pilies sodų istoriją liudijanti medžiaga, supažindinama su renesansinio stiliaus sodo, skirto šios rezidencijos sodams atminti, projektiniais sprendimais.From medieval times, gardens were an indispensable component of castle, monastery and palace environment in Europe. The earliest remarks on royal gardens at the Vilnius Lower Castle date back to the 1530s. Long-term archaeological excavations of the site did not help to establish the precise location of these gardens. However, some artefacts were found in the cultural layers, which could be interpreted as garden elements belonging to the medieval castle, the renaissance and the baroque palaces. The authors of the article refer to authentic materials pertaining to the history of landscape management at the Vilnius castle site. These materials have been collected during the archaeological excavations conducted by the Lietuvos Pilys Castle Research Centre and are currently analyzed at the Scientific Research Centre at the National Museum the Palace of Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The garden history could be traced through the remnants of garden facilities: the fragments of medieval wattle dated to the late 14th century, pond reinforcements in front of the royal palace, which was under construction at that time, dated to 1510–1511, and wells in the area of the renaissance gardens dated to 1560–1562. Besides, several relics of the seventeenth-century baroque garden were uncovered in the presumed garden area: a masonry base of a garden statue or fountain, sized 2.6 x 2.12 m, a fragment of a sandstone vase, almost 1 m in diameter, and a segment of a cobbled road running along the hill’s retaining wall. The history of the use of ornamental plants is attested by fragments of flowerpots or Myrtaceae pollen found in the sixteenth-century cultural layers. The territorial distribution of the remnants of garden facilities indicates that the gardens were not localized in a single area but rather surrounded the royal residence. The article also presents a project of a renaissance-style garden adjacent to the reconstructed palace, designed to commemorate the historical royal gardens. The garden will consist of three main parts: a bosket separating the garden terrace, four box-edged lawns with a central fountain, and raised beds with ornamental plants and culinary herbs selected referring to sixteenth-century books. The garden construction is due for completion in 2018