
Six discoveries in the courtyard garden
Six discoveries in the courtyard garden
Forest bathing? This recreational activity also works in Düsseldorf in the middle of the city - with "park bathing" in the Hofgarten! Numerous highlights await you on 27.5 hectares
A stone's throw away from the shopping temples and pubs of the old town, you will find peace and relaxation in the Hofgarten. You can stroll in the shade under old plane trees, jog along the wonderful sightlines or enjoy the view of the perfectly shaped park from Napoleon's Hill. As the first and oldest public garden in Germany, the 27.5-hectare park is also a prime example of an English landscape garden! Everything here looks like nature, but is actually the result of precise planning. The Hofgarten also delights locals and visitors alike with a variety of art objects. At the same time, nature lovers get their money's worth.
Observing hundreds of water birds
Ornithologists, whether full-time or just in their spare time, enjoy spotting a wide variety of bird species in the Hofgarten. In the water basin known as the Landskrone, but also at the Swan House not far from the city's oldest pedestrian bridge, the Golden Bridge, you can observe the barnacle goose, which breeds in the Arctic in summer, the Central European mute swan and the gadwall, which is also found in Central Asia and North America. And if even the Bahama duck feels at home in the Hofgarten, although - as its name suggests - it could also live on the tropical archipelago in the Atlantic, then that speaks pretty clearly for the park, doesn't it?
For the sake of the environment
At a time when climate protection plays such an important role, cities cannot appear green enough. Not far from the Weyhe Passage (which was named after court gardener Maximilian Friedrich Wehye, who took over the design of the park in 1804), if you look closely, you will see a sign on the trunk of the primeval sequoia! This plant, which originates from China and can grow up to 50 meters tall, is a very special one - namely a living fossil. This means that the species has survived more or less unchanged over geologically long periods of time. The gingko is another example. Just a few meters away, up the hill opposite the tree to the "pineapple hill", a plane tree regularly makes a big appearance. Not only young people, but also older people like to sit on the low-growing branches of the ancient tree.
Art in the open air
Art fans will get their money's worth in numerous museums and galleries throughout Düsseldorf. But did you know that the Hofgarten is a free open-air museum? All year round, whether it's 40 degrees in the shade, drizzling rain or permafrost with a blanket of snow, you can marvel at sculptures by some of the most important artists of their time in this green space. To name just a few examples: Near the Kö, you can marvel at Henry Moore's bronze sculpture "Reclining Figure in Two Parts" from 1969, while not far from Jägerhof Palace with its Goethe Museum, you can take a look at Manolo Valdés' "Meninas", the court maidens based on the famous painting by Diego Velázquez. The Heinrich Heine Memorial is adorned with the bronze sculpture "Harmony" by Aristide Maillol. By the way, you should definitely visit the Hofgarten in the evening or at night: That's when the light benches designed by artist Stefan Sous light up on both sides of Jägerhof-Allee.
Perfect route for cycling and inline skating
Cycling is unfortunately considered a dangerous undertaking in many big cities, and the same applies to inline skating in traffic. The good news: in the Hofgarten, you can roll along the numerous paths in such a relaxed manner that you won't even be able to stop for adrenaline. Jägerhof-Allee alone is one of the most beautiful settings for doing sport in the fresh air and under the watchful eye of numerous unicorns. In the warmer seasons, you can make yourself comfortable on the Reit-Allee in the park section on Kaiserstrasse for yoga, Pilates or a picnic, while children let off steam on the adjacent playground near Inselstrasse. Incidentally, the first gymnastics ground in the Rhineland was opened there in 1815.
Horticulture at its best
French Baroque style meets English landscape garden with wide meadows, valleys, lakes and an impressive tree population: this is how the Hofgarten can be described in a few words. Lovers of horticulture can enjoy meticulously trimmed box hedges, beds of tall perennials and plant trees, some of which have been in place since 1808. With its outstanding design, the Hofgarten was intended for the use of the general public from its opening in 1770 - and not just for a prince, as was the case with so many other gardens in Germany. The entire green area has been a protected monument since 1998.
Eye-catcher not far from the Hofgarten: Kö-Bogen II
If your surroundings adapt to you, you've probably done a lot right - this principle certainly applies to the Hofgarten. After all, just a three-minute walk from the "Grönen Jong", the fountain designed by sculptor Josef Hammerschmidt, stands one of the greenest buildings in the city - which, with a little imagination, can also be seen as an extension of the park. Several thousand hornbeams grow on the five-storey building called Kö-Bogen II, designed by architect Christoph Ingenhoven, as an environmentally friendly alternative to a concrete façade. Incidentally, other important buildings also appreciate the immediate vicinity of the Hofgarten: museums such as the NRW-Forum and the Kunstpalast, the opera, the Tonhalle and the Schauspielhaus can be reached within a few minutes' walk from the park or are directly adjacent to it.
Cover picture: Düsseldorf Tourismus