The Steinfurter Bagno is a park near the town of Burgsteinfurt in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

History

Amusement park

Count Charles Paul Ernest of

Bentheim-Steinfurt Bentheim-Steinfurt was a historical county located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt, Germany. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim, itself a partition of the County of Bentheim. Bentheim- ...

founded it in 1765 with the intention of creating a summer residence for his family. The initial design adhered to the French garden tradition of imposing strict order and symmetry on the layout. Following Count Louis' succession in 1780, the park saw the addition of various buildings and structures, including the so-called Greece and Egypt, as well as imitations of Oriental and Far-Eastern styles. The oldest surviving layout dates from 1787 and includes 105 buildings, fountains, bridges, statues, islands, gardens, and paths crammed onto a 125-hectare plot. In later years, criticism on the excessive density of objects and architectural styles and the rise of the

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

brought about substantial change to the Bagno. Buildings and other objects were removed, new ones constructed; straight ways were replaced by meandering paths, natural looking yet artificial cascades were built, large lawns created and exotic trees planted. The Bagno developed into the most prominent park of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

boasting extraordinary

fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), 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. ...

, a widely known chapel, and a lake navigated by a fleet of small yet pompous ships. In a rather modern move, the Count opened the park to the general public.

French occupation

The park experienced a sudden change in 1806 when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's vassals seized the county. Count Louis traveled to Paris to talk to the French emperor in person and reclaim his position, but to no avail. His son

Alexius Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

maintained the park on scant means, and saw himself forced to demolish a number of buildings for want of money for their maintenance. By 1828, only 16 of the 39 buildings counted in 1806 remained; of these 3 remain to this day.

Restoration

State contributions of 4.1 million Euros helped reshape the Bagno in 2004; the refurbished concert hall has gained particular popularity since. In 2006, the park became a member of the

European Garden Heritage Network The European Garden Heritage Network is a nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organi ...

References

External links