The Grüneburgpark is a public park in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

, Germany, located in the

Westend Westend may refer to: * Westend (Trevilians, Virginia), an historic house in Virginia listed on the NRHP * Westend (Berlin), a locality of Berlin in Germany * Westend (Frankfurt am Main), a borough of Frankfurt am Main in Germany * Westend, Espoo, ...

quarter. It began as a park for the Grüne Burg (Green Castle), a castle from the 14th century. In 1789, the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann Metzler acquired the property, and had the park designed. In 1837, the property was bought by the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

, who erected a palace-like mansion in the style of a French

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

palace. They commissioned Heinrich Siesmayer to develop an English garden, completed in 1877. Under the Nazi regime, Albert von Goldschmidt-Rothschild had to give up his family home. The palace was destroyed in an air raid in 1944. After the War, the park was expanded to 29 hectares, and opened to the public. It has since been a popular recreation place, comprising the botanical garden of the university and a Korean Garden.

History

Grüneburgpark began as a park for the Grüne Burg (Green Castle), a castle from the 14th century. In 1789, the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann Metzler acquired the property, expanded the building and had the park designed. In the following years the great thinkers of the day met here, among them

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

and Bettina von Arnim. In 1837, the park was bought by the

, who had a palais constructed in the manner of a French

castle. The Rothschild family had a 29-hectare-large landscaped park developed in this location. The English-style park itself was finished in 1877 by . In 1935, after the Nazi rise to power, Albert von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, who committed suicide in emigration five years later, had to "transfer to the municipality" (quote from a letter to mayor Krebs) what had been the home of his family. The "New Palais" was destroyed in an air raid in 1944. After the Second World War, the park was expanded to 29 hectares. It has since been a popular place for recreation among the Frankfurters, especially in the summer months. The park's northwest corner is now the Botanical Garden Frankfurt. Another major botanical garden, the

Palmengarten The Palmengarten is one of three botanical gardens in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is located in the Westend (Frankfurt am Main), Westend-Süd district. It covers a surface of 22 hectares. It is a major tourist attraction. History Like ma ...

, is just across the street. The park is also home to a 4,800-square-metre

Korean garden Korean gardens are a type of garden described as being natural, informal, simple and unforced, seeking to merge with the natural world. They have a history that goes back more than two thousand years, but are little known in the west. The oldest ...

. It was a gift to the city as part of South Korea's presentation as the guest of honour at the 2005 Frankfurt Book Fair. It has been designed in the style of traditional Korean scholars' gardens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruneburgpark 1789 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Geography of Frankfurt Parks in Germany