The Luisenpark is a municipal park in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, whose attractions include a greenhouse, "gondoletta" boats, and a variety of facilities for children. Along with the Herzogenriedpark it is operated by the non-profit Stadtpark Mannheim GmbH.
History
The Luisenpark was built between 1892 and 1903, formed upon the legacy of scientist professor Dr. Carl William Casimir Fox, who bequeathed 20,000 Deutsche Marks in his will to the city of Mannheim for the making of a new park. This amount was not sufficient for total financing, but formed a foundational start. Construction work began at the end of 1892. The design of the park was done by the Siesmayer brothers, Frankfurtlandscape gardeners. Conditions for the ascent of the Luisenparks for supraregional meaning was the resolution of the Mannheimerlocal council in November 18, 1969 to develop the Luisenpark as well as the Herzogenriedpark. At that time the park was extended to a size of 41 hectares by the inclusion of a former racecourse. The sales of 186,000 season tickets, which was not even reached by all federal horticultural shows, the number of 8.1 million visitors, and the removal of the Luisenpark fence, convinced the city council to operate the Luisenpark as city park with entrance fee. However, on October 21, 1975, the decision for a closed Luisenpark with entrance fee fell. It was agreed to have two probationary years of free entrance, but over 38,000 maps sold yearly demonstrated a convincing argument to maintain the free entrance to the park.
Name
The Luisenpark is named after princess Luise Marie Elizabeth of Prussia, a close relative of three German emperors: William I was her father, Frederick III was her brother and William II was her nephew. On September 26, 1856, when she was eighteen-years old, she married the Prince Regent, later Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick I. She carried out crucial pioneering work for the Wohlfahrtspflege in Baden. As an eighty-year-old, she, along with her daughter, Queen Victoria of Sweden, had to flee through a window from marauding soldiers attempting to take the castle in Karlsruhe.
Attractions
The park contains a number of amusements and gardens, including a Chinese garden, rose garden, arboretum, and greenhouses for display and for tree ferns.
The Kutzerweiher, a lake forming a side-channel of the Neckar river. Gondolettas, tow boat ride: boats pulled by an underwater rope, follow a 1,840 meter long looped course around the lake.
An open-air stage with approximately 1,000 seats has offered since 2006 a place for concerts, operas, musical shows and plays.
The Chinese garden , 多景园 Duojingyuan = garden of the many opinions, and its tea house were built in co-operation with Mannheim's Chinese twin cityZhenjiang, the Klaus Tschira charitable trust in Heidelberg, and the East Asia InstituteLudwigshafen. The donation of 1,77 million Deutsche Mark from the estate of Diplom-Kaufmann George, provided the financial foundation for the garden and tea house.
The Pflanzenschauhaus, a greenhouse and exhibition garden, is located at the site of the Palmenhaus which was destroyed in the Second World War. It contains a butterfly house, bird exhibits, as well as salt and fresh wateraquariums.
The Spielwiese, a large playground and leisure meadow, located on the grounds of the original race track, borders on a model farm with domestic animals enclosures, and a Chinese tea house
