A gloriette is an ornamental, usually open structure or pavilion built as an eye-catcher on a raised or prominent point in a garden or park. It offers a view over the surroundings and serves mainly as a decorative resting and viewing point.
Application
The gloriette appears mainly in landscape and Baroque gardens. Characteristics:
- Position — on a hill, at the end of a sightline or above a grotto, so the structure is visible from afar and itself provides a view.
- Form — often an open colonnade, arcade or domed pavilion, sometimes with arches.
- Function — as a resting spot, tea pavilion or purely decorative endpoint of a garden layout.
The most famous gloriette stands in the garden of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The gloriette is related to the folly (a decorative garden building with no real function) and to the arbour, but is distinguished by its monumental, open architecture and its emphasis on the view.
Related terms
- Pavilion
- Folly
- Arbour
- Belvedere
- Pergola
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