Azalea and Rhododendron Park Kromlau

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Azalea and Rhododendron Park Kromlau is a 200-hectare landscape park in the Kromlau district of Gablenz in the Görlitz district . It is considered the largest open-air rhododendrons as a landscape park in Germany and is always open with free admission.

history

Cavalier House
Rakotz Bridge

In 1842 the large landowner Friedrich Hermann Rötschke , a contemporary of the landscape designer Hermann Ludwig Heinrich Prince von Pückler-Muskau , acquired the Kromlau estate. From 1844, when native and foreign trees were first planted on this property, Rötschke made almost half of his property available to design the park. Basalt stones were fetched from various quarries in Saxon Switzerland and Bohemia with ox carts . Caves, grottos and pyramids, the judgment seat, the organ, heaven and hell, in the water and on land , emerged from the hexagonal basalt steles.

In 1875 Friedrich Herrmann Rötschke exchanged his manor for building sites in Wilmersdorf near Berlin. From then on, the Kromlau mansion had seven owners in fourteen years. In 1889, Graf von und zu Egloffstein-Arklitten acquired the manor and from 1893 commissioned the horticultural inspector Georg Eichler to look after the park. He began to plant rhododendrons and free-range azaleas on a larger scale alongside the previous tree and shrub plants . They should contribute to a harmoniously rounded appearance of the park. In addition, the garden designers created certain flower varieties especially for sale in the Moorsenken, which proved to be a lucrative source of additional income and which benefited the development of the park.

After the Second World War , the Kromlauer Park was made public property due to the land reform and declared a nature reserve in 1948 . The targeted maintenance and reconstruction of the park only began in 1966. Today the municipality of Gablenz is the owner of the Kromlauer Park.

Among the most interesting buildings in Kromlauer Park are the Kromlauer Schloss and the Rakotzbrücke (Rakotz = Sorbian for cancer), which was built from 1863 to 1882 from basalt and field stones , which is popularly known as the Devil's Bridge . Your semicircle is reflected in the lake and forms a complete circle. It spans the Rakotzsee , but can no longer be entered (span: 35 m). The basalt columns arranged in the lake are called organs . A number of hiking trails open up the park and the other sights.

Renovation work since 2017

Rakotz Bridge with scaffolding
Reconstruction of the grotto

The renovation work started on August 11, 2017. It is financed by the federal and state programs "Urban Monument Protection" and "Future City Green" in the amount of 2.4 million euros and 2.7 million euros, respectively.

In addition to the renovation of the Rakotz ensemble (Rakotz Bridge, group of basalt columns and the cave between the Rakotz Bridge and the outside staircase which collapsed in 1956), the park paths and the stone group "Richterstuhl" in the western part of the park were also renovated. In addition, the historical bridge on the Inselteich, also in the western part, was rebuilt and historical sculptures restored. A multi-generation playground near the castle was completed in 2018. The visitor parking lot was also expanded, including the construction of an information point with toilet facilities.

At present (June 2020) the following picture emerges: The pond has been drained and the Rakotzbrücke is fenced in.

Others

Every year at Whitsun , the Park and Blossom Festival takes place, which attracts up to 35,000 visitors.

In addition to conventional means of transport, the azalea and rhododendron park can also be reached from Weißwasser with the Muskau forest railway .

Kromlau has been a member of the Garden Culture Trail on both sides of the Neisse since 2011 and of the European Park Association Lusatia since 2017 . This benefits the promotion and tourism marketing. Furthermore, the park maintenance seminars held in this context serve to maintain and maintain the facilities.

literature

Web links

Commons : Azalea and Rhododendron Park Kromlau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Regina Weiß: surprise egg Rakotzbrücke . In: Lausitzer Rundschau , Senftenberg edition, July 25, 2018, accessed on August 5, 2019
  2. ↑ Regina Weiß: The Gablenz friend of the park opens Rakotz's construction diary. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , Senftenberg edition, June 11, 2019
  3. ^ Regina Weiß: Kurznachrichten; Gablenz community . In: Lausitzer Rundschau, Weißwasser edition, March 16, 2011, accessed on June 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Regina Weiß: Park Association draws larger circles. In: Lausitzer Rundschau, Weißwasser edition, June 14, 2017, accessed on March 3, 2018.

Coordinates: 51 ° 32 ′ 8 ″  N , 14 ° 38 ′ 10 ″  E