The Silesian Impact of Hero’s Treatise. Salomon de Caus and the Wrocław Garden of Laurentius Scholz
The Silesian Impact of Hero’s Treatise. Salomon de Caus and the Wrocław Garden of Laurentius Scholz

Summary/Abstract: In the existing literature, Salomon de Caus has been credited as the inventor of a device wherewater circulation was driven by pneumatic tanks equipped with lenses. The identifi cationof such a device in the garden of Laurentius Scholz in Wrocław nearly two decades earlierprompted the necessity to verify this belief. The authors attempted to elucidate thefunctioning of the device based on available texts, analogies, and iconography. They alsopresented the contemporary technologies of water devices in gardens, including theirsources, functions, and cultural signifi cance. The methods of supplying water to gardenswere analyzed, along with the likely connection between the garden and the water supplynetwork in Wrocław. The discussion incorporated the perception of water, encompassingpreferences and the assessment of water quality based on its origin (rainwater, well water,river water, lake water, etc.). The symbolism and intricate depiction of the manifestation ofthe water element in gardens were explained. Based on preserved treatises and accounts,the authors determined that individual elements of the device could be found in worksdedicated to hydraulics, pneumatics, distillation, or medicine. They speculated that bothScholz and de Caus may have become acquainted with the solar pump in one of thegardens in Italy, such as Tivoli, or most likely in Pratolino, where numerous automatacould be found, primarily inspired by the works of Heron of Alexandria.

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