Between 1735 and 1790 the art-historical style known as baroque developed into rococo (also known as late baroque). The heavy, monumental dynamism of the baroque was replaced by cultivated living, lightness, subtlety, exquisitely tender sensuality and gallant forms of expression. Rococo style is characterised by exuberant embellishment on buildings, interiors, furniture, objects and, above all, the rejection of all kinds of symmetry, which had been an important component of baroque style. The term rococo also refers to the transition from baroque to classicism, in particular the turning away from lavish floridity to clarity of line. However, no other era witnessed a greater contrast between illusion and reality, appearance and truth.

This late-baroque palace complex is hidden away in the Mecklenburg countryside. All the buildings are the work of Johann Joachim Busch, the Schwerin court architect, primarily a sculptor but also a brilliant architect. The elongated palace is a melange of late-baroque style and classicism. Essentially a brick building, it was made to look more "French" by the addition of light Pirna sandstone. The palace interior – with its palette of gold and pale grey – oozes elegance and is the epitome of courtly splendour. However not everything in this palace is as it seems. Many of the wall and ceiling decorations are not, in fact, stucco plaster or wood: they are made of papier mâché, also known as "Ludwigslust board".
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Blankenburg Castle was built in the middle of the 11th century. It stands majestically on the Blankenstein, a limestone hill overlooking the town of Blankenburg on the northern edge of the Harz in Saxony-Anhalt. Worth seeing are the Grey Hall, the theatre, the castle chapel, the Imperial Hall and the Knights' Hall. Visitors can enjoy a stroll in the castle park, the pheasant garden and to the small palace on the eastern edge of Blankenburg's old quarter. Built in around 1725, the small palace has an enchanting baroque terraced garden that is graced by sandstone statues and beautifully preserved ponds.
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The earliest records of Hundisburg Palace date back to around 1140. Originally a castle built to defend the border of the archbishopric of Magdeburg and converted into a Renaissance palace in the mid-16th century, it is the most significant baroque country palace in Saxony-Anhalt. Its stately baroque garden is equally as impressive as its vast 19th-century landscape park, the third-largest of its kind in Saxony-Anhalt.
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The baroque abbey garden in Neuzelle (Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, near the Polish border) was created in the 18th century. It was divided into an abbot's garden and an abbey garden. This is the only baroque garden in Brandenburg to have retained its original design features and these can still be admired today. The highlights include an orangery, water features, terraces and beautiful old trees and plants.
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