Schuetzen Park is a privately owned park in

North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

, United States, that has existed since 1872 and is located on the ridge of the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

at Kennedy Boulevard and

Bergen Turnpike Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

just north of the Marginal Highway. Its southern and western perimeters are shared with the Fritz Reuter Altenheim, a retirement community named for the German author,

Fritz Reuter Fritz Reuter (7 November 1810 – 12 July 1874; born as ''Heinrich Ludwig Christian Friedrich Reuter'') was a novelist from Northern Germany who was a prominent contributor to Low German literature. Early life Fritz Reuter was born at Stavenha ...

, and Columbia Park, a large shopping center. The German-American

Volksfest A Volksfest ( ; German for "people's festival")Cognate of "folk festival" in English is a large event in German-speaking countries which usually combines a beer festival or wine festival and a travelling funfair. Attractions may include amusement ...

has taken place there annually since its construction.Schuetzen Park in North Bergen
, Germany in NYC, accessed November 28, 2010.

History

In 1864, nearby Union Hill was set apart from

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

as a separate municipality that had been originally settled by a group of

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

s as early as 1851. In 1872, the United Schützen Association opened a park on the site of the "Old Mansion" of the Wright family (see 1873 map illustration), featuring a new dancing pavilion, music stand and shooting gallery in addition to the landscape elements and green houses "just as Mr. Wright left them." The Plattduetsche Volksfest Vereen organization of New York and New Jersey (PVV), which was created in 1874, purchased the property in 1894. It expanded into an amusement park that featured three dancing pavilions and ten bowling alleys, which entertained up to 50,000 attendees at a time with vaudeville performances and tournaments, parades, and fireworks.Schwartz, Art (August 30, 2015)
"Farewell to a century-old tradition?: 141st annual German festival at Schuetzen Park may be the last"
''

The Hudson Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' is a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Hudson Reporter'' publications mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain is the ''Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 1983. ...

''. Schuetzen is a derivative of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

word

Schütze ''Schütze'' in German means "rifleman" or "shooter", or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or as Schütz, as in the opera ''Der Freischütz''. The word itself is ...

, meaning "shooter" or "rifleman". Originally encompassing about 32 acres, the park's location on the western

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer laye ...

of the

was chosen so that bullets could be directed into the side of the hill.

Target practice In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon. Targets being shot at ...

continued at the park until 1935. Over the years much of the property was sold off, a large portion of which was acquired by the government to build Route 495 leading to the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

. In a 1911 ad in which it is called Schützen Park, proprietor Fred Hager claimed it as the "largest park of its kind in New Jersey", offering 600 x 200 feet rifle ranges, 10 modern bowling alleys, and three dancing pavilions,''50th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of West Hoboken, N.J.''. Datz Co. 1911. p. 50 which could accommodate roughly 50,000 people. The park also contained a variety of attractions, such as vaudeville performances, parades, fireworks and tournaments. The park was one of the venues in

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

that catered to the large German-speaking population. Armbruster's Schuetzen Park and Pohlmann's Hall, are among the many others. From 1945 to 1975, when the sports field was sold to a real estate developer, Schuetzen Park was the home of

Hoboken FC 1912 The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. Today the park is used for banquets, weddings, receptions, and public sporting events such as boxing and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

matches. The park, along with the retirement home, the

Bergen Crest Mausoleum Bergen Crest Mausoleum is a mausoleum in Hudson County, New Jersey. Location Located at 4001 Kennedy Boulevard, the Bergen Crest Mausoleum is in town of North Bergen, New Jersey and is adjacent to the Garden State Crematory. Along the boulev ...

, the

Garden State Crematory Garden State Crematory is located at 4101 Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, New Jersey. The back of the building overlooks the Weehawken Cemetery and it is adjacent to the Bergen Crest Mausoleum. History In the 19th century, the New York and New ...

, and the many cemeteries that characterize the area along the western slope - Flower Hill Cemetery,

Grove Church Cemetery The Grove Church Cemetery is a nonsectarian cemetery,Brooklyn Fairchild Sons, p. 63. located on the western slope of the Hudson Palisades, along with several other cemeteries in a string of green open space, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United ...

Hoboken Cemetery The Hoboken Cemetery is located at 5500 Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States. in the New Durham, North Bergen, New Durham section. It was owned by the Hoboken, New Jersey, City of Hoboken. The Flower Hill Cemetery borders it ...

, Machpelah Cemetery and

Weehawken Cemetery The Weehawken Cemetery, like neighboring Hoboken Cemetery, is not located in its namesake town of Weehawken but rather on the western slope of the Hudson Palisades in North Bergen, New Jersey, with its main entrance on Bergen Turnpike. At its east ...

- constitute a string of green open spaces in North Hudson County. The German-American Volksfest has taken place there annually since 1874. Fears were expressed that the 2015 Volkfest may be the last, owing to the amount of club members who have moved away.

Gallery

File:Schuetzen Park Festival Hall.png, 1907 postcard of the Festival Hall File:Hudson Hills Senior No Bergen jeh.jpg, Fritz Reuter Altenheim, a retirement home since 1897 Image:Snakehill1900.jpg, USGS Map from 1900 shows Schuetzen Park as a prominent landmark File:10.7.09SchuetzenParkByLuigiNovi1.jpg, Schuetzen Park, as seen from Kennedy Boulevard

References

External links

Rheinischer Sängerbund

North Hudson 1884 map
{{Hudson County, New Jersey North Bergen, New Jersey Geography of Hudson County, New Jersey Neighborhoods in Hudson County, New Jersey Sports in Hudson County, New Jersey German-American history Parks in Hudson County, New Jersey German-American culture in New Jersey 1874 establishments in New Jersey

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links