View from the orangery with cascade in the background The Körnerpark () is situated in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

's quarter of

Neukölln Neukölln (), officially abbreviated Neuk, is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located south-east of Berlin's center and stretches from the inner city southward to the border with Brandenburg, encompassing the eponymous quarter of Neu ...

in the

borough between Jonasstraße, Schierker Straße, Selkestraße and Wittmannsdorfer Straße. The approximately 2.4 hectare (5.93 acres) park resembles a palace garden. The feature in the eastern part of the park is a

cascade Cascade, or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Air shower (physics), a cascade (particle shower) of subatomic particles and ionized nuclei ** Particle shower, a cascade of secondary particles produced as the result of a high ...

with

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 o ...

s. Opposite to the west, an

orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

houses a café and a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and forms the boundary of the park. During summer weekends, the forecourt of the orangery is used for free concerts and performances. The northern part is dominated by a flower garden. ''Körnerpark'', one of the official neighborhoods in the quarter of Neukölln, derives its name from the park.

Development

Commemorative plaque, Wittmannsdorfer Straße 6 The park was built in a former

gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Gravel pit lakes are typically nutrient rich and ...

, which its owner Franz Körner gifted to the former city of Rixdorf in 1910 under the condition that the planned park would carry his name. Probably designed by Hans Richard Küllenberg, the park was built between 1912 and 1916 in a

Neo-baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

style. The city fathers intended to provide the surrounding neighbourhood with an adorned landmark, encouraging the development of excellent and beautiful buildings, to create an exceptionally preferred residential area. Due to its original use as gravel pit, the park's level is between five and seven meters below the surrounding street level. Retaining walls border the park on three sides. Attached to the western wall is the orangery, styled after the

gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles ( ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the Palace of Versailles, château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles, palace, the gardens cover so ...

by its architect Reinhold Kiehl. Along with the '' Märchenbrunnen'' in the

Volkspark Friedrichshain Volkspark Friedrichshain () is a large urban park on the border of the :Localities of Berlin, Berlin neighborhoods of Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. The oldest public park in Berlin, at 52 hectares, it is also the fourth-largest, after Berlin ...

and the cascade at the '' Lietzensee'', a lake near Alt-Lietzow in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, the Körnerpark is an outstanding example of Neo-baroque garden design in Berlin.

Restoration

The park fell into disrepair after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and its location beneath the eastern approach path of

Berlin Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport () was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leaving Tegel and Schönefeld as the ...

exarcerbated its deterioration. The park's restoration began at the end of the 1970s, based on the preserved original designs. In October 1983, the orangery reopened as a gallery, and the cascade and canals were renovated in 2002. Buckets with plants stand again on the forecourt of the orangery, and the extensive areas of

herbaceous plants Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent wood, woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennial plant, perennials, and nearly all Annual plant, annuals and Biennial plant, biennials. Definition ...

have been restored. The Körnerpark has been listed as one of Neukölln's historic garden monuments since 2 April 2004.

''Equestrian tomb of Neukölln''

''Equestrian tomb of Neukölln'' The site received archaeological fame, when on 23 January 1912, during construction work at the corner Jonas-/Selkestraße, the ''Equestrian tomb of Neukölln'' was discovered.Das germanische Reitergrab
, retrieved on 6 August 2014. The tomb dates from the late Germanic

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

in the early 6th century. Today, it is on display in the ''

Märkisches Museum The Märkisches Museum ( Marcher Museum; originally Märkisches Provinzial-Museum, i.e. Museum of the Province of the March f Brandenburg is a museum in Mitte, Berlin. Founded in 1874 as the museum of the city of Berlin and its political region ...

''. The equestrian was buried with his horse in a tomb of 2.50 metres depth. He had been approximately 40 years of age at the time of his death. The grave also contained the remains of a leather belt, fitted with iron parts, bronze nails and an earthenware vessel. A ''

spatha The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between , with a handle length of between , in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD. Later swords, from the 7th to 10th centuries, like the Viking ...

'', a long sword, lay diagonally on the corpse.

Bibliography

* Clemens Alexander Wimmer: ''Parks und Gärten in Berlin und Potsdam''; ed. Senator für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz, Abt. III – Gartendenkmalpflege; Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung: 3rd edition, Berlin 1989, , p. 80–82. * Adrian von Müller: ''Berlins Urgeschichte''. Bruno Hessling Verlag, Berlin 1971, , S. 58. * Sabine Huth, Cordula Rinsche: ''Schlösser, Parks & Gärten in Berlin und Brandenburg''. FAB Verlag, Berlin 1997, , p. 226. * Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt: '' Stadtgrün in Berlin – Urban Green Spaces in Berlin''. booklet, Berlin 2012, p. 29

(German/English)

External links

Website of Körnerpark
(German)

(German)
Landscape architecture online exhibition with several (partly historic) photos
(German)
''Entry in Berlin Register of Historic Monuments''
(German)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornerpark Parks in Berlin Urban public parks Heritage sites in Berlin Neukölln Buildings and structures in Neukölln Buildings and structures completed in 1916 Archaeology of Germany