Avenues as historical heritage
Tree-lined avenues have been part of our landscape culture from time immemorial. They structured the spaces of ancient gardens, linked important trade centres, and facilitated transit. Military, economic and landscape-planning aspects determined the creation of avenues in various ways in the past.
Avenues in garden art
In the Baroque period, avenues were laid to structure landscapes. The history of the word “alley” sheds light on how the Central European avenue history began. It derives from the French word for walking (“aller”) and designated a pergola. In the Baroque period, pergolas were laid primarily in castle gardens. They were designed “for the eye”, comparable to galleries and corridors in the architecture of a house.
Avenues as military and trade routes
In the 18th century, avenues were also extended beyond the surroundings of castles: as “communication routes” they linked the castle grounds with the city or served as military roads and gave the troops orientation and protection. Frederick the Great was of the opinion that, although a Chaussee, or country road, was not there “for the sake of pleasure”, it nevertheless required trees along it to give shade and relief to the soldiers, who would otherwise be worn out on their long marches.
Avenues also fulfilled important economic purposes as trade and traffic routes: closed canopies gave travellers, merchants and their horses and carts protection against sun, rain and snow. The densely planted trees also improved road safety by preventing carts and wagons from slipping down into the ditches. And last but not least, fruit-tree avenues offered food off the branch to travellers and animals alike.
Avenues in landscape planning
Especially after 1950, many tree-lined avenues had to make way for the construction of broader carriageways. Most of the avenue trees were cut down. The number of kilometres of tree-lined avenues that have been preserved in Europe is currently not registered. To our knowledge, not a single European country has an accurate avenue cadastre and there are at best only vague estimates.