Hamburg Stadtpark (Hamburger Stadtpark) is a large

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in the district of Winterhude, in the Hamburg borough of Hamburg-Nord. Spanning an area of , it is the second-largest park in the city after

Altona Volkspark Altona Volkspark is a large urban park in the Hamburg district of Bahrenfeld, in the borough of Altona. Ahead of Hamburg Stadtpark, it is the largest park in Hamburg. Altona Volkspark is located some 3 km off the inner city. The largest parks ...

. The Stadtpark is regarded as the "green heart" of Hamburg, despite being located some 3 km from the city centre. Opened in 1914, Hamburg Stadtpark is an important example of German

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and ga ...

and the transformation from an urban garden to an

History

Like many cities during the Age of Industrialization, Hamburg grew substantially in the later decades of the 19th century and many former open spaces had been built over. In order to counterbalance this development, in 1901 the Senate of Hamburg and Hamburg Parliament agreed to purchase the so-called Sierich Grove (''Sierichsches Gehölz''), and to develop an

. In 1908 a public design competition was hosted, however, no consensus could be reached. In January 1909, head engineer Fritz Sperber presented two designs – based on the results of the competition – on behalf of the senate, one landscaped and painterly, the other geometric. In June 1909, Fritz Schumacher was made director of the city's Department of Planning and Building Inspection, and in January 1910 he and Fritz Sperber presented a design to the Parliament which was subsequently approved. The park was opened four years later, though it would be another 14 years before it was finally completed. After 1918, the gardening and landscaping work was principally carried out by Otto Linne, the first horticultural director of Hamburg. During the bombing of Hamburg in World War II, a couple of buildings within the park were destroyed, and not rebuilt after the war. Need for additional office space in the 1960s led to the development of City Nord, a decentralized

commercial district A commercial district or commercial zone is any part of a city or town in which the primary land use is commercial activities ( shops, offices, theaters, restaurants and so on), as opposed to a residential neighbourhood, an industrial zone, or ...

located to the north-east of Hamburg Stadtpark.

Overview

The park's most famous landmark is the Hamburg Planetarium, a former

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

. At night, the tower is illuminated in various colours. The 64-metre-tall brick tower was designed by Oskar Menzel and built in 1914. Since 1930 it has housed Germany's largest planetarium. The tower is located in the western half of the park and can be reached via a 500-metre-long avenue on its eastern side. This avenue leads onto the Great Meadow (''Festwiese''), which borders onto the artificial Stadtpark Lake (''Stadtparksee''). Midway, the park is crossed by a street. Most of the park's western half and the park's edges are made up of wild woods. Around the edge of the park there are also a number of sporting grounds and sporting halls, an outdoor lido and an athletics stadium. Dozens of playgrounds and sport facilities are spread throughout the park. The home stadium of Hamburg Rugby Club is at Saarlandstraße in the north-east of the park. In the very north-eastern corner lies the ''Freilichtbühne'', an open air stage for music concerts. The lake is connected to Hamburg's extensive network of waterways via the Goldbekkanal. Alster ferries run services between the Stadtpark and Jungfernstieg in the inner city. Every year in September, a vintage car race takes place at Hamburg Stadtpark ( Stadtpark-Revival). Hamburg Planetarium im Winter.jpg, Planetarium Stadtpark Hamburg Nord-Süd-Sichtachse.jpg, Lake Stadtpark Hamburg im Winter 1.jpg, Pathway Hamburg-Stadtpark.jpg, Pathway and meadows Hamburg Planetarium.jpg, Planetarium

Public art

22 privately sponsored pieces of mostly stone and bronze public art are displayed throughout Hamburg Stadtpark. Here are some of them: Hh-stadtpark-a-bock.jpg, Diana with dogs (1911) by

Oscar Troplowitz Oscar Troplowitz (18 January 1863 – 27 April 1918) was a German pharmacist and entrepreneur. Troplowitz trained at Heidelberg University and in 1890 he purchased Beiersdorf AG, which at the time was a chemist's shop and laboratory in Hamburg ...

Diana auf der Hirschkuh Georg Wrba 2.NNW.jpg, Diana on a doe (1910) by

Georg Wrba Georg Wrba (3 January 1872 – 9 January 1939) was a German sculptor and graphic artist. He created some 3,000–4,000 works, including as a collaborator of the Zwinger (Dresden), Zwinger workshop. Life Wrba was born in Munich in 1872, the so ...

Die Badende Reinhold Begas 1.jpg, Bathing Women (1926) by Reinhold Begas Knabe mit Fischen Oscar E. Ulmer 2.jpg, Boy with fishes (1925) by Oscar E. Ulmer Wasserspeier (Richard Haizmann).jpg, Gargoyle (1930) by Richard Haizmann; original labelled degenerate art and destroyed by the Nazis, replica of 1994 Tanzende Mädchen Karl August Orth 1.jpg, Dancing Girls (1935) by Karl August Ohrt

References

External links

Stadtparkverein Hamburg e.V.
(friends' association) {{Authority control Parks in Hamburg Urban public parks Hamburg-Nord Tourist attractions in Hamburg Protected areas established in 1914