Ettenheim Prince Garden

View of the Prinzengarten November 2018

The Prinzengarten Ettenheim has existed since the 17th century. It is the "herb and tree garden lying in front of the Thomasthor, completely surrounded by a wall" in the town of Ettenheim in the Ortenau district . Today the garden is opposite the Ringsheimer Tor in the west of the historical city center and is bordered by the street “Ringsheimer Tor” in the east and by the “Thomasstraße” in the north. In Ettenheim this garden is also known as the Kopp'sche garden, after the last private owner. The 3900 m² garden is enclosed on the north and east sides by a sandstone wall approx. 2 m high. The garden can be reached via 3 entrances and one driveway. The driveway is on the north side and leads to the north side of the garden house.

The garden, first mentioned in a document in 1721, changed hands several times up to 1790, the names of which are unknown, and then became the property of Baron Franz Reinhart Albertini von Ichtratzheim . During this time the Cardinal Louis René Édouard de Rohan-Guéméné , the Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg and Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien, were in exile there and used this garden as guests of the baron. The prince fell in love with the niece of Cardinal Princess Charlotte de Rohan , "Mademoiselle de Rochefort" married her secretly and cultivated the garden. In the city accounts of 1805 there is further evidence of the garden, as the baron had to pay the land rent for “his Steeg and Gärtel at the Thomasthor”. In 1810 it was redeemed for 2500 guilders and again "his herb and tree garden in front of the Thomasthor, completely surrounded by a wall, with a value of 2500 guilders". The garden was bequeathed to Peter Bosch, who had it auctioned on November 15, 1821, while the garden was divided into two parts, the northern part was given to the brewer Franz Xaver Köbele and the southern part was given to the salmon host Benedikt Werber. The beer brewer was an ancestor of the last private owner Maria Kopp, he used the area by adding a beer storage cellar to the garden house and the area as a summer restaurant with a bowling alley. On the ground floor the beer was served, on the upper floor there were common rooms that were used for playing cards. In 1959, the city of Ettenheim acquired the property now known as Kopp'scher Garten, whereby Ms. Kopp received a right of use, the aim was to create a city garden here. The other part remained in the possession of the Weber family until 1880, then it was sold by the heirs to the cooper Josef Schmid, who bequeathed it to his daughter Maria Theresia Sauer. In 2001 the city was able to acquire the other part from the heirs.

The city brought the two parts together, so that historical unity was restored. Originally, in the 1990s, the city was planning to create a parking lot for the city center, but this failed due to popular protests. From this protest movement, the support association of the park was formed with the name “Freundeskreis Prinzengarten Ettenheim eV”, which now has over 200 members.

On July 6, 2001, the State Monuments Office presented the Enghien garden pavilion as a cultural monument in accordance with § 2 of the Baden-Württemberg Monument Protection Act (DSchG) under protection, together with the garden and the bounding sandstone wall, it forms an entity in accordance with § 2 DSchG (Paragraph 1) and thus enjoys the status of a cultural monument. The restoration based on the historical appearance of the facility was completed in 2006.

Events take place on the premises all year round. During the Christmas season, on Fridays, the garden house becomes probably the largest crispy house, which is then always decorated with sugar and sweets.

The maintenance and design of the garden is supported by the “Freundeskreis Prinzengarten Ettenheim eV” in cooperation with the city.

division

Glance into the potager in November

The garden consists of the garden house and the four sections, it is assigned to the baroque and the French garden art customary there. Due to its small size, the rules and regulations such as those in “La Thèorie et la Pratique du Jardinage” by Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d'Argenville are not fully implemented.

Festival meadow "Tapis vert", this is built in the style of the English architectural gardens of the 19th century.
Orchard "Fruitier", this corresponds to the baroque model only in structure due to the quinquonce position of the trees. The old fruit trees have to be replaced by new ones, this is done mainly with old varieties. These are James Grieve , Champagnerrenette , Goldparmäne , Goldrenette von Blenheim , Jakob Fischer , Jakob Lebel , Kohlenbacher , Rote Sternrenette , Roter Winter-Calvill and Zuccalmaglios Renette .
The “Potager” vegetable garden is actually a kitchen garden based on the Baroque model. The beds are bordered by box hedges and are planted ornamentally with different, striking vegetables throughout the year
Grove "Bosquet", this is the high south-western part of the garden and is natural except for the construction of the path, it should keep the rich spontaneous vegetation. In this area is also a small ivy pavilion with a bust of Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé.
Garden house, it was probably built between 1755 and 1757. It has a square floor plan and is two-story with a total height of 8.5 m. At the top it is closed with a mansard roof. The upper floor is accessible via a stone staircase at the rear and consists of a bright room. Working materials are stored on the ground floor, the upper floor is used by NABU .

Web links

Commons : Prinzengarten Ettenheim - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ From the memoirs of Henriette Stuber, the daughter of the Ettenheim chief magistrate Franz Michael Stuber. “The Duke of Enghien had laid out a garden on a hill outside the gate for those he loved and with whom he was secretly married, and no one was allowed to work in it except the Duke himself and his masters. The servants had to lead father to the door, and from then on he was picked up so that no one was allowed to set foot in this little garden. Only my mother accompanied the princess every day, and I was allowed to carry the basket or whatever he needed because she didn't want to take any waitress with her either. "
↑ Prinzengarten in Ettenheim. Study on history, redesign and use (pdf)

48.254008830097 7.8097701073784Coordinates: 48 ° 15 ′ 14.4 " N , 7 ° 48 ′ 35.2" E

[1] From the memoirs of Henriette Stuber, the daughter of the Ettenheim chief magistrate Franz Michael Stuber. “The Duke of Enghien had laid out a garden on a hill outside the gate for those he loved and with whom he was secretly married, and no one was allowed to work in it except the Duke himself and his masters. The servants had to lead father to the door, and from then on he was picked up so that no one was allowed to set foot in this little garden. Only my mother accompanied the princess every day, and I was allowed to carry the basket or whatever he needed because she didn't want to take any waitress with her either. "

[2] Prinzengarten in Ettenheim. Study on history, redesign and use (pdf)