Rhododendron Park Bremen

Rhododendron Park
	Park in Bremen
	Rhododendrons in bloom in the Rhododendron Park
	Basic data
place	Bremen
District	horn
Created	From 1933
Newly designed	1949, 1964, 1984, 1990, 1998
Surrounding streets	Marcusalle ; Deliusweg, Horner Heerstr.
Buildings	Greenhouses, Rhododendron Cafe
	Technical specifications
Parking area	46 ha

The Rhododendron Park in Bremen offers a unique collection of rhododendrons and azaleas on an area of 46 hectares . Of the approx. 1,000 different rhododendron game species worldwide, more than 600 grow here and in the botanika. In addition, approx. 3,500 cultivated varieties are presented to the approx. 300,000 visitors each year. The Rhododendron Park Bremen has the second largest collection of rhododendron species and varieties in the world. The main blooming season of the rhododendrons and azaleas in the park is between the end of April and mid-June, depending on the weather.

The Rhododendron Park offers flowering plants during the entire vegetation period, especially in the botanical garden and in the rose garden, which are integrated into the park. Hydrangea bushes were planted in suitable places immediately in front of rhododendron bushes in order to bring color changes to the otherwise almost uniformly green areas of the park in summer.

The German Rhododendron Society has its office in Bremen's Rhododendron Park.

history

In 1911, Bremen bought the Rickmers Park there . In 1933, the Bremen Horticultural Office (now Umweltbetrieb Bremen) began to lay out the Rhododendron Park on around 35 hectares in the Horn-Lehe district of Bremen , among others according to plans by Horticultural Director Richard Homann . Trees planted as a wildlife park stood on the site of the former Rickmers and Allmers estates around 1890 , mainly oaks , but also beeches , ash trees and spruces . These trees still provide shade and shelter for the rhododendrons today. Favorable climatic conditions and site conditions for rhododendrons and evergreen deciduous trees and the nearby Oldenburg tree nursery area, which specializes in the cultivation of these plants , were favorable prerequisites for creating a "testing and viewing garden for rhododendrons". In 1935 the German Rhododendron Society was founded in Bremen; its first president was Colonel a. D. Arnold von Engelbrechten. With the construction of the Reichsautobahn, the eastern part of Rickmers Park was separated from the rest of the park. Most of the 4,000 plants were in place by 1938, and the second construction phase could be opened in 1939. After that, work came to a standstill due to the war. In August 1940, the bronze sculpture Wisent, created by Ernst Gorsemann in 1935, was installed in the Rhododendron Park.

The terrarium was built in 1949/50, the terrace café in 1960 and the heather garden in 1964 .

In 1972 the construction of 960 m² greenhouses for the non-winter hardy tropical and subtropical rhododendron species began. It started with the greenhouse, named after the first mayor of Bremen after the Second World War, Wilhelm Kaisen . In 1974 the Eduard-Nebelthau-Haus followed and other greenhouses supported by the German Rhododendron Society.

After the founding of the Friends of the Rhododendron Park Association in 1976, the Rhododendron Café was opened in 1978. In 1980 the Azalea Museum was inaugurated.

In 1984 an area of around 11 hectares north of the park was purchased in order to design it for the long term for the ever-expanding collection.

In 1986 the Martin-F.-Mende-Haus was inaugurated, which housed the larger collection of Indian azaleas.

In 1990, after many years of construction, the rhododendron rock garden was completed. In 1991 a first small part of the extension site was opened to the public.

In 1998, the inauguration of the 10,000 square meter rose garden in the extension area, designed by the garden architect Eckhard Brülle , followed.

In 1999, as part of the planning for a rhodarium , in which all previously isolated and technically and biologically no longer suitable greenhouses were to be combined in several modern glasshouses and an integrated information center, a new 2,500 square meter complex of cultivation greenhouses was built.

In 2000, according to the planning of the garden architect Karl-Peter Schreckenberg , the construction of the approx. 10 hectare extension area began, in which numerous themed gardens (including the garden of new breeding products, bonsai garden, scented garden), new areas for the expanded range of rhododendrons, a tree nursery, a large lake and a large children's playground were created. This site was inaugurated on April 20, 2002.

On June 6, 2003, botanika was opened in the middle of the Rhododendron Park as Germany's largest nature experience center. In extensive Asian landscapes under glass, the botanika shows the variety of flowers of the tropical and subtropical rhododendrons and provides in-depth knowledge of the importance of biological diversity.

In the fall of 2003, the garden of human rights project initiated by the sociologist Witha Winter was inaugurated.

Due to the significantly increased attractiveness of the park and the necessary savings measures for the maintenance budget of the Bremen Senate, the Bremen Senate decided to charge entry to the park from April 1, 2006 during the heyday. After public protests, the order was suspended before the measure began.

In 2008, on the initiative of a private donor from Horner, a foundation was set up to preserve the park , in which the city of Bremen participates with two thirds. With the establishment of the foundation, endowed with endowment capital of 30 million euros, the Rhododendron Park became the property of the Foundation, which took over the maintenance and further development of the Rhododendron Park from 2009. Since then, botanika has been operated by botanika GmbH and supported by the botanika foundation in the preservation and presentation of the non-winter-hardy rhododendron collection.

Botanical Garden

In the middle of the park is the botanical garden . The city's first botanical garden was founded in 1905 by Franz Schütte and laid out by Georg Bitter . It existed until 1935 on Osterdeich (on today's Georg-Bitter-Straße ). In 1937 the garden was relocated next to the Rhododendron Park, but could not be completed until 1950. The diversity of native flora and plants from other continents is presented. In the botanical garden there is a sundial by the sculptor August Tölken .

An Aquarota for biotechnological desludging and sediment aeration has been in operation near the duck feeding area since May 2012.

Entrance Ronzelenstrasse

Access

The park is located in the Horn-Lehe district of Bremen and has several entrances: The main entrance is on Marcusallee opposite No. 41, others are Marcusallee 60, Deliusweg 40, Horner Heerstraße 15, at the end of Bandelstraße, at the end of Ronzelenstraße at the school and on Berckstraße in front of the Fritzewiese sports grounds .

The park is open all year round, as is the botanika and the Bloom restaurant. Entry to the park is free.

Views of the park

botanika
In the botanika
Alpinum
sundial
Japanese stone lantern
Grove of Honor
Novelty garden
Wisent sculpture
Magnolia in early April
Heath garden in early May
Rose garden in mid-July
Heath garden in early November

literature

Reinhold Tüxen: Bremen Botanical Garden - guide through the plant-sociological-systematic department . Bremen 1956.

Johann Berg: Signpost through the Rhododendron Park . Bremen 1964.

Johann Berg: Signpost through the Botanical Garden . Bremen 1967.

Lothar Heft: The Rhododendron Park Bremen - 1936–1986 - A park in Bremen . Bremen 1986.

Eberhard Pühl: Signpost through the Botanical Garden and Rhododendron Park Bremen . Bremen 1994.

Maria Mandelka: Signpost through the Bremen Botanical Garden . Bremen 1995.

Hartwig Schepker (text) and Jochen Mönch (photos): Rhododendron Park Bremen - 75 years of blooming . Bremen 2012.

Kai Artinger: "Germanic forest cattle" and rhododendrons. The story of Bremen's most famous free sculpture and the rhododendron park during National Socialism . In: Labor Movement and Social History . Issue 26, Bremen 2012, pp. 49-78.

Peter Schulz, Peter Fischer (cards): Parks in Bremen . Bremer Marketing (ed.), Bremen 2008.

Michael Koppel: Horn-Lehe-Lexikon. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8378-1029-5 .

Web links

Commons : Rhododendron-Park Bremen - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

53.091666666667 8.8861111111111Coordinates: 53 ° 5 ′ 30 ″ N , 8 ° 53 ′ 10 ″ E