Parks

Stadtgarten

Around 1750, the Prince-Bishop Christoph Freiherr von Hutten constructed a reservoir on the Steinsberg Hill, above the palace area, to supply water to the fountains in the palace garden and to the fountains in the city and surrounding region.

Above the reservoir, a “Lustschloss“ (summer residence) was built, and in 1758 it was complemented by a Schiesshaus (shooting house) for shooting competitions arranged by the royal court.

In the course of time, the shooting house was called "Belvedere” and its surrounding location, along with that of the “Lustschloss” became a city park in 1901 –  the Stadtgarten.

With its mixture of formal and freely curved landscaping, the park has always reflected the contemporary taste of the times. Meanwhile the paths have been enhanced to reflect the park surroundings and its terrain.

Due to its valuable tree population the approximately 7.5 acre park, provides a high recreational value for the city and serves as the school yard of the Schönborn Gymnasium School, which was reconstructed from the original “Lustschloss”.

Bürgerpark (Public Park)

The Bürgerpark, which is the city’s largest green area, is next to Bruchsal’s newly built Bürgerzentrum (Civic Center). The Bürgerzentrum is located along the edge of the pedestrian area (the area of the city where no cars are allowed). Beneath the Bürgerpark there is underground parking for the Center. The Bürgerpark is also used for musical and theatrical performances in support of the city’s “Summer Festival”.

In the park, two memorials by the artist Walter Habdank, are a reminder of the Nazi Regime’s crimes. In addition, the granite sculpture “Connection”, by the Japanese sculptor Hiromi Akiyama was constructed in the park to foster international understanding.

The park has a well-equipped playground and has numerous footpaths and cycle paths.

Schlossgarten (Palace Garden)

In 1719, when Prince-Bishop Damian Hugo von Schönborn decided to move his residence from Speyer to Bruchsal, he built a Baroque Palace complex that featured a garden in axial-symmetrical arrangement to the palace’s main building.

Like the majority of palace gardens during this time (Age of Absolutism), it was considered as the continuation of the outdoor living spaces, with the plants having served as living building material.

The gardens represented the power and the reputation of their owner, and therefore they featured intricate trick fountains and sculptures.

Starting in 1721, the upper Palace Garden was created at the same time as the Palace.

The middle and lower Palace Garden have never been finished. Today, they are separated by a train line.

Since 1760, efforts have been made to change the garden into a landscape garden based on the British model, but without giving up its baroque features.

In 1803, when the Bishops moved back to Speyer (because of secularization) , the gardens were no longer tended and were partly used for agricultural and forestry purposes.

The first reconstruction was started in 1900 when the grotto at the Swan Pond was built. The rest of the garden was restored from 1989 to 1996, when the entire complex was carefully reconstructed to maintain a combination of Baroque style gardening and English landscape gardening. 

For further information please refer to www.schloss-bruchsal.de


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