Erhard Hirsch's study examines the social, political, and artistic preconditions and impacts of a comprehensive modernization process in the central German territory of Anhalt-Dessau in the age of reformer prince Leopold Friedrich Franz. The Wöouml;rlitz Garden Kingdom (inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2001) and the 'Philanthropin' educational institution founded in 1774 in Dessau are the central concerns of this interdisciplinary study, closely based on contemporary sources. It promises a rich fund of new insights for literary studies, history, art history, and the history of education, society, and economics.