Englischer Garten

The English Garden is more than just a park, the garden is the green heart of Munich. The most famous beer gardens such as the Chinese Tower and the Seehaus are located here. The English Garden was created in 1789 on the model of English gardens. The landscape planner Friedrich Ludwig Sckell had previously designed the Schönbusch Park in Aschaffenburg. The English Garden in Munich follows the same scheme, but is intended as a public park for the citizens and not as a ruler's private garden.

The English Garden is with 375 ha larger than Central Park in New York (350 ha). However, the English Garden is divided into a northern and a southern park by the Isarring. The southern part is the well-known part of the English Garden, here is the beer garden at the Chinese Tower, the beer garden Seehaus, the Monopteros (photo), the Eisbach and the Japanese tea house.

The naked on the Schönfeldwiese slowly die out. The young people of Munich think little of nudism in the English Garden.

The northern part is also called Hirschau. There are large meadows and forests that are crossed by streams. There are plans by the city of Munich to put the Isarring underground and thus reunite the English Garden into one large park.

 

Englischer Garten

 

Olympia Park Munich

The Olympic Park was built for the 1972 Olympic Games on a former airfield. This is where the ruins of the destroyed city were piled up after the Second World War. A new subway line was built for the summer games, the excavation of which forms the Olympiaberg, under which the rubble mountain is located. Today the Olympiaberg is around 95 m high and a popular vantage point (photo).

The concept of the Munich Olympics were games in a green landscape in a democratic Germany. One wanted to distinguish itself clearly from the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, which were used to stage the power of Adolf Hitler. In Munich, construction was carried out transparently and innovatively. The glass roof of the Olympic Stadium by Günter Benisch and Frei Otto has become a global architectural icon.

The Olympic Park was designed by the landscape planner Günther Grzimek. The area north of the Georg-Brauchle-Ring was designed by the landscape architects Hans Lutz and Wolfgang Miller. Grzimek's concept was not based on the design of the landscape, but on the use of open space for the citizens. Although over 3,000 trees were planted, the park consists predominatly of meadows that can be freely used by the citizens. "Taking ownership of the lawn" was his motto.

The Olympic site can be reached from the Olympiazentrum station of the U3 underground line via pedestrian bridges. If you want to go directly to the Olympiaberg, you can take bus 144. There are several restaurants in the park.

 

Olympiapark, Spiridon-Louis-Ring

 

Eisbach surfers

At the entrance to the English Garden on Prinzregentenstrasse, resourceful surfers created a standing wave. The wave in the Eisbach is used by the surfers to practice. At the weekend, numerous spectators are gathered to watch the surfers riding the wave one by one. There are also brave Munich girls who venture into the ice-cold water. The Eisbach has developed into a tourist attraction because of the surfers.

 

Prinzregenten Straße

 

Hofgarten

The Hofgarten is located north of the Munich Residenz. The baroque park was created in 1617 under Maximilian I, who expanded his predecessor's Renaissance garden. In the middle of the garden is the round Temple of Diana (goddess of hunting). The courtyard garden is enclosed on three sides by buildings, in the east there is a slope behind which the Bavarian State Chancellery is located. The baroque gardens were destroyed in WW 2 and later restored in the style of the 17th century. In the arcades on the west side of the Hofgarten, the history of the Wittelsbacher is depicted using frescoes. The murals are painted by Peter von Cornelius. Architect Leo von Klenze built the gate to Odeonsplatz.

 

Hofgarten

 

Isar

The 295 km long Isar originates in Austria and flows into the Danube at Deggendorf. The river crosses the Munich city area from south to north. In Munich, the Isar has created a broad river bed with gravel areas on the bank. These gravel banks are used by the people of Munich to grill, chill, fish and swim. There are large riparian forests north of the city center. In the city center there are parks on both sides of the river. The Maximiliansanlagen (photo) is on the right bank and the English Garden on the left.

 

Isar

 

Old Botanical Garden

The "Old Botanical Garden" was designed in 1812 by landscape architect Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell. The entrance portal with an inscription by Goethe is still preserved. After the "New Botanical Garden" was opened in Nymphenburg in 1914, the area was turned into a park with a Neptune fountain by Nazi sculptor Joseph Wackerle in 1937. In the old botanical garden there is also a beer garden and an art pavilion. The Old Botanical Garden in Munich is located between the central train station and Karlsplatz.

 

Elisenstraße

 

Chinese Garden Munich

For the International Garden Exhibition IGA 1983, the Chinese Garden in West Park was built. "The Fragrance and Splendor Garden" was designed in China and built with materials and workers from Guangzhou in Munich. The West Park is a 2 kilometer long green area, the Chinese Garden is located in the western part near the West Lake. The Chinese Garden was created as a circular route around a pond. Plants, stones, waterfalls and buildings are based on the four seasons, which also symbolize life with its sections. The Chinese Garden in Munich was the first of its kind in Germany.

Chinesischer Garten Frankfurt

Chinesischer Garten Berlin

Chinesischer Garten Bochum

Chinesischer Garten Duisburg

 

Westpark

 

Gardens of Nations

In addition to the Chinese Garden, there are other national gardens in West Park. There is a Nepalese wooden pagoda, a Japanese garden and a Thai pavilion. The wooden pagoda was made in Nepal and shows very beautiful carvings. The Japanese garden cannot convince those who have been to Japan, there is little Zen in this garden. The pavilion from Thailand is wonderful. In the sala there is a Buddha statue and the golden pavilion is beautifully reflected in the lake.

 

Westpark

 

Map of parks in Munich

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