Actions

Gönneranlage

From Stadtwiki Baden-Baden

Gönneranlage
The Gönneranlage is a rose garden within the Lichtentaler Allee, which was constructed in the style of French baroque gardens. Visitors can admire 400 different sorts of roses.

Infos
Type Garden

Creator Max Laeuger
Date of Construction 1912

Dedicated To Albert Gönner
Map
Loading map...

The Gönneranlage is a rose garden within the Lichtentaler Allee between the Baden-Baden Ludwig-Wilhelm-Straße and the Oos. Max Laeuger constructed the garden in 1909 in geometrical forms. In the center the monumental fountain Josefinenbrunnen of Munich sculptor Joseph Flossmann is located. Named after the former mayor of Baden-Baden and honorary citizen Albert Gönner, the Gönneranlage is the oldest still existing public garden in Germany of the new baroque garden type, which emerged after 1900.[1]

The Garden[edit]

The complex is tripartite and today has a dimension of about 90 x 180 m[2]. At the center of the garden is the fountain Josefinenbrunnen, which is flanked by two figures. The figures are personifications of the drinking cure and the bathing cure. The fountain with basins measures approximately 15 x 20 m[2]. During the planning Max Laeuger was inspired by French baroque gardens and constructed the garden in strict symmetry. This style of art has been praised by some people, while others criticized the strange contrast to the Lichtentaler Allee.[3] In front of the large copper beech hedges on the northeast side the visitors can experience what garden art meant to Laeuger: For him it was a variant of constructing houses or palaces, in which the sky is the ceiling, the hedges are the the walls, and the grass and the flowers form the floor. Originally the Gönneranlage was planted with summer flowers, since 1952 it is a rose garden. The symmetry of the park got lost in 1969, when the city built an additional indoor swimming pool next to the Bertholdbad, which was formerly a pure outdoor pool.

In the Gönneranlage visitors can admire thousands of roses of about 400 sorts. Signs in the flower beds specify the name of the rose, the rose-grower and the year of growing.

Gallery[edit]

History[edit]

Originally the site of the Gönneranlage belonged to the monastery Kloster vom Heiligen Grab and was used for agriculture. After the purchase by the city in 1886 a long discussion started, whether the site should be used for building some mansions or a public park. Finally, more than a decade later, it was decided in favor of a simple park in the English style. It was set up according to the plans of the Stuttgart Garden Director Wagner. In 1900 on the occasion of the 25th year of service of the Lord Mayor Albert Gönner, an oak was planted in this park and named after Gönner. In addition the park received his name.

Finally, it was the wholesaler Sielcken Hermann, who influenced the history of the garden. Hermann Sielcken had become rich through the coffee trade. In memory of his deceased wife, Josefine Sielcken, he donated a fountain. An invitation competition was conducted and finally the design of Joseph Flossmann was chosen. The mayor Reinhard Fieser had the idea of rebuilding the entire park. So the architect and garden designer Max Laeuger presented a first draft for the transformation of the garden in 1907. This draft was rejected by the residents nearby because it included the planting of large trees around the garden, which would have negatively affected the view to the Lichtentaler Allee. Finally, the second draft of 1908 was implemented, which excluded these trees. The initial planned foundation of 25,000 marks had to be raised by Hermann Sielcken to 60,000 marks. Later, the donation even increased to 90,000 marks. The garden was built in 1909 and was officially opened in 1912. In addition to the fountain also the bridge Josefinenbrücke, which leads over the Oos in front of the Gönneranlage, is reminiscent of Josefine Sielcken. In the years 1923-1925 the artist Max Laeuger constructed a second geometric park in Baden-Baden - the Wasserkunstanlage Paradies.

After the Second World War, there were plans to convert the Gönneranlage into a "normal" park, but this was not implemented. Instead the Gönneranlage became a rose garden. In 1952, the year of Max Laeuger's death, a roses show under the auspices of Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer took place in the Gönneranlage.

In 1969 due to the construction of the adjacent indoor pool, a piece of the Gönneranlage was lost and thus the symmetry of the garden was damaged.

In the years 1989 and 1990 the Gönneranlage and the employees of the municipal garden department were facing a special challenge. The Michaelstunnel was built straight through the garden, having an open trench. Thanks to good preparation, the numbered natural stones could later be reinstalled at its original position and the garden was restored quickly.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary in August 2009, the first "fountain concert" took place in the Gönneranlage. The Orchestra of the Baden-Badener Philharmonie played on a pedestal in the lower basin of the Josefinenbrunnen, while the audience was sitting between Josefinenbrunnen and the entrance.[4]

References[edit]

  • Ulrich Coenen Von Aquae bis Baden-Baden - die Baugeschichte der Stadt und ihr Beitrag zur Entwicklung der Kurarchitektur Aachen, Mainz 2008, ISBN 3-8107-0023-1 p. 468 et seq.
  • Bernd Weigel Parkführer Baden-Baden. Die Gärten und Kuranlagen im Oostal. 2. Auflage, Wesel-Kommunikation, Baden-Baden 2003, ISBN 3-00-010770-3 p. 39 et seq.
  • Helmuth Bischoff Baden-Baden: Die romantische Bäderstadt im Tal der Oos. Kurbetrieb zwischen Casino, Park und Kloster. DuMont, Köln 1996, ISBN 3-7701-3086-3 p. 146 et seq.

Footnotes:

  1. Coenen, p. 468
  2. 2.0 2.1 Size measured using Google Earth, this is compliance with the gardens size of 1,6 Hektar mentioned in Weigel, p. 40
  3. Bischoff, p.147
  4. First fountain concert (de) at Baden-Baden.tv