Vērmane Garden ( lv, Vērmanes dārzs, german: Wöhrmanns Garten) is the oldest public garden in the city of Riga, Latvia, and currently comprises an area of approximately . The current name is a Latvian

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

of the garden's original

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 ...

name.

Wöhrmann Park

Vērmane Garden was originally created as Wöhrmann Park in 1814 on behalf of the Governor General of

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

Philip Paulucci, just a couple of years after the outskirts of Riga was burned down during the French invasion of Russia prior to the Siege of Riga. Financing and land for the park was sponsored by the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

to Riga Johann Christoph Wöhrmann (1784–1843) and his mother Anna Gertrud Wöhrmann ( née Abels, 1750–1827). Vermanes Garden Memorial

Wöhrmann Park was

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

with festivities on 8 June 1817 as a fenced park with exotic trees, a

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

and restaurant. A

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

was erected 1829 in the park as a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

memorial to Anna Wöhrmann. The memorial was dismantled prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and recreated 2000. 1836 the ''Riga Chemist and Pharmacist Society'' initiated a

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

shop in the park restaurant. When the premises became too narrow, reconstructions were conducted according to a project by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Heinrich Scheel in the years from 1863 to 1864 and 1870 to 1871. 1869 the park had a sundial and

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

installed. Vermanes Garden View

Park becomes Garden

1881, the director of the Riga City Gardens and Parks Georg Kuphaldt expanded the park territory considerably by transferring areas of city squares and the front part of the bordering territory belonging to the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. In the newly expanded garden, Kuphaldt installed flower

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

s and exotic trees and bushes such as: Gleditschia triacanthos (Honey locust), Dimorphantus mandschuricus Maxim (Japanese angelica tree), Aesculus rubicunda Lois, Fagus silvatica (Copper beech), Fagus asplenifolia (Fernleaf European beech), Fagus folis atropurpureis, Acer negundo (American maple), Acer negundo foliis variegatis,

Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States, ...

(Black locust),

Magnolia obovata ''Magnolia obovata'', the Japanese cucumber tree,Kayano, S. (2014). ''Ainu Tools''. Biratori: Yuideku Co., Ltd. Japanese bigleaf magnolia, or Japanese whitebark magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'', native to Japan and the adjacent Kurile Isla ...

(Japanese bigleaf magnolia), Magnolia yulan (Lily tree), Bignonia catalpa (Herb linn), Pterocarya caucasica (Caucasian wingnut),

Prunus laurocerasus ''Prunus laurocerasus'', also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry ('' Prunus''), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern ...

(Cherry laurel),

Aucuba japonica ''Aucuba japonica'', commonly called spotted laurel, Japanese laurel, Japanese aucuba or gold dust plant (U.S.), is a shrub () native to rich forest soils of moist valleys, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China, Korea, and ...

(Spotted laurel),

Buxus sempervirens ''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...

(European box), Buxus arborescens (Boxwood tree), Ilex aquifolium (European holly), Ilex laurifolia, Berberis aquifolium (Oregon grape), Rhododendron catawbiense,

Yucca filamentosa ''Yucca filamentosa'', Adam’s needle and thread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae native to the southeastern United States. Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture. Description Usually trun ...

(Adam's needle yucca),

Hedera helix ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

(Common ivy).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vermanes Garden Parks in Latvia Gardens in Latvia Tourist attractions in Riga