Bürgerwiese - Lennépark

The Bürgerwiese park, as its name reflects, has been in the possession of the city since time immemorial. It runs as a 100-metre wide ribbon for about a kilometre between the city centre and the Grosser Garten park, starting not far from what was once the mediaeval city fortification.

As the city grew in the 19th century, greater significance was attached to the connecting function of the Bürgerwiese, which had previously served as common pasture. The city authorities decided to turn it into a public park and garden, and in 1838 commissioned court gardener Terscheck to plan and lay out the first section, the so-called »Inner Bürgerwiese«. This section still displays Biedermeier period influences today.

The »Outer Bürgerwiese« and its extension were laid out between 1859 and 1869 to plans drawn up by the Prussian director of gardens Peter Josef Lenné. His landscaping designs, with gentle hollows and ingenious integration of the Kaitzbach stream, aimed at preserving the original character of a meadow area.

Through the emphasising of diagonals, an unexpected depth is achieved despite the narrow width. Particularly delightful are the pond and fountains, not to mention the views with the towers of the Kreuzkirche and the City Hall in the background. Various statues round off the park design at prominent points. The 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter Josef Lenné in 1989 was taken as an occasion to commence a complex four-year restoration project, paying particular attention to landscape architecture and monument preservation aspects.