Renovated orangery of Dornava mansion

Dornava Mansion, in terms of the scope of its concept, its integrity, and its diversity—encompassing garden and park design, the architecture set within it, its furnishings, as well as sculptural and painting art—is one of the most important and most comprehensively preserved monuments of Baroque secular architecture in Slovenia. The main park axis to the southwest is marked by a sculpture of the Immaculate, while to the northeast it is defined by a statue of St. John of Nepomuk. The mansion park, created in the mid-18th century, represents the most important Baroque park design in Slovenia. Along the nearly two-kilometre-long central axis, individual park areas unfold together with the mansion in a compelling Baroque geometric composition. A key co-creator of this composition is the restored Orangery building on the western side, which—together with the former Garden Pavilion on the west (at the site of today’s house)—concludes the designed three-part parterre section of the park. In the Franciscan Cadastre of 1824, two buildings are visible, although the eastern one had already been partially altered. The last known renovation of the building dates from the period after the Second World War, when the Orangery was converted into a drying facility and storage space for the needs of an agricultural state cooperative.

In the orangery building, the key architectural elements were the glazed surfaces of the southern façade, which allowed for opening to provide ventilation and for shading to prevent overheating. An appropriately designed heating system (both passive and active) was also an integral part of the arrangement. The gardeners responsible for maintaining the park landscape and caring for the plant collections were highly trained in horticulture and garden management, as well as in the maintenance and stewardship of green spaces, and were essential for preserving the representative appearance of the park grounds.

Before the restoration began, extensive building-historical research was carried out. On the side, southern façade, this research confirmed the existence of a former slanted (baroque) glazed wall, characteristic of orangeries. It was established that enough architectural elements and historical data had been preserved to allow this phase of the orangery—although repeatedly altered over time—to be reliably presented. During the renovation works, a completely preserved and undamaged brick heating channel with a furnace and chimney was also discovered. This represents an important functional component of such orangeries and an exceptional find in the Slovenian context.

Since preserved 18th-century orangeries are rare even within the wider Central European region, the restored orangery in the park of Dornava Castle is all the more significant. As currently the only fully restored building in the central part of the park complex, the Orangery will once again serve its original function—the storage of citrus trees. At the same time, it will act as a central venue for a wide range of activities that will support both the operation and promotion of the monument and strengthen the connection between the local community and visitors from outside.