Hermannshof exhibition and viewing garden

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the Hermannshof exhibition and viewing garden.

The Hermannshof.

The Hermannshof is a 2.2 hectare display and viewing garden for perennials in Weinheim an der Bergstrasse .

history

The history of the property leads back to the 18th century to a summer residence (" Lusthaus ") in the middle of a garden, which u. a. Lambert Babo belonged to the elector Karl Theodor appointed imperial baron. Around 1820, the building director Friedrich Weinbrenner from Karlsruhe erected the classicist building with the character of a manorial garden villa. The property came into the possession of the Freudenberg family in 1888 through a purchase from the heirs. The new owner was the Weinheim entrepreneur Hermann Ernst Freudenberg (1856–1923). Since this acquisition, the building has been the residence of the Freudenberg industrialist family and the area has been the private garden that belongs to it. After a further renovation, the ensemble of villa, gardener's house and garden has been called Hermannshof since 1900 .

Historical myrtle (with the framework for the enclosure in winter)

However, the history of the design of the garden by the Freudenberg family begins as early as 1879. A branch of Myrtus communis from Helene Siegert's bridal jewelry, planted in and later planted in the garden that year, took root at her wedding with Hans Ernst Freudenberg and in the meantime has grown into a stately tree that is now ten meters high, which requires its own glass house for wintering. It is considered to be the largest and oldest myrtle in Germany.

Hermann Ernst and after his death Hans and Ida Freudenberg dealt with the design of the garden: above all by planting more trees and creating a large meadow. After them, Maria Schildhauer looked after the system. In the 1920s, the garden was redesigned by the landscape architect Heinrich Friedrich Wiepking-Jürgensmann . A floor plan made by him from 1924 has been preserved.

Turning the garden into a show and viewing garden was a suggestion made by Gerda Gollwitzer, who is related to the family . The company management agreed. A non-profit association was founded for the sponsorship and leased the property from the owner, the Freudenberg company .

The redesign of the garden between 1981 and 1983 was planned by landscape architect Hans Luz (Stuttgart) together with Urs Walser . The building was converted into a representative seminar and conference house. In 1983 the property was transferred to the “Hermannshof Show and Sightseeing Garden” foundation. V. "will be transferred. Since then, the public has free access to the gardens during opening times. There are around 120,000 visitors a year.

The chairman of the foundation is Reinhart Freudenberg; the technical advisory board is headed by Bernd Hertle ( Weihenstephan ). Urs Walser was in charge of the garden from 1981 to 1997; his successor is Cassian Schmidt. The Freudenberg company (approx. 80%) and the city of Weinheim (approx. 16%) share the annual costs; the rest are other income.

topography

Circular path in the Hermannshof exhibition and viewing garden.

The protected location of the area, the slope extending in two directions with the shadow of old woodlands and the sunny valley basin with a small pond and open stone areas allow the planting of perennials and shrubs with very different demands on soil, light and moisture. The hardiness zone corresponds to a mild wine-growing climate and supports the wintering of perennials that are not hardy in other places.

Purpose and concept

In accordance with the dual purpose of a show and viewing garden, plants and plant communities are presented to the public in their different habitats , but also as beds and borders that are attractive in every season of the year; on the other hand, perennials are systematically examined for their location conditions and for compatibility with competitors for light and food. One of the focal points is the behavior of the perennials, such as resistance to drought and heat in the event of increasing climatic changes, and their usefulness in private and public gardens, especially in southwest Germany.

Recently, plant combinations have also been developed and tested with a view to cost-effective use in public areas with a varied pile with only a few planting and maintenance passes.

The high grass prairie garden, which was created around 2002 and is now well-established, deserves special mention with shrubs and grasses that are native to the corresponding areas of the USA. These include species that are already threatened at their original location as a result of river regulations and similar measures. The Hermannshof is in contact with horticultural companies in the USA to procure the seeds. In addition to the labeling of the individual species, there are panels with explanations of the use of the plants in Indian medicine (“Manitou's Pharmacy”).

Other attractions are

the old exotic trees (such as the oriental plane tree ( Platanus orientalis ), planted in 1770, and the maple-leaved plane tree ( Platanus × hispanica ), the giant sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) planted in 1888 , the atlas cedar ( Cedrus atlantica ), some of which go back to the beginnings of the garden ), the ginkgo ( Ginkgo biloba ), magnolias that are over 130 years old , the Davidia , the evergreen Quercus turneri 'Pseudoturneri' and the wisteria arcade from 1920).
the collection of the bush peonies that has been established since 1998 .

In addition to guided tours for interested groups, the garden also offers themed tours during the months of vegetation, usually on a specific Sunday of the month.

Movie

Magical gardens. Hermannshof. Documentary, France, 2017, 25:53 min., Script and direction: Emmanuel Descombes, production: Bo Travail !, arte France, series: Magische Gärten (OT: Jardins d'ici et d'ailleurs ), first broadcast: March 8th 2018 at arte ( description of the film and the garden ( memento of March 9, 2018 in the Internet Archive )).

literature

Press and information department of the Freudenberg company (ed.): Der Hermannshof. Weinheim 2006 (leaflet).
The Hermannshof exhibition and viewing garden from a social science perspective. Survey results 2005. Report within the framework of the research association "Sustainable city parks with new experience qualities to improve the quality of life in the city and the urban living environment" funded by the Federal Ministry of Research. Edited by Bettina Breuer. Edited by IWU, Institut Wohnen und Umwelt . Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-932074-89-0 .

Exhibition and viewing garden Hermannshof e. V. (Ed.): The exhibition and viewing garden Hermannshof. Weinheim, undated

Hermann Freudenberg: (remarks on the occasion of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Hermannshof show and viewing garden on May 6, 2008); on-line. (No longer available online.) In: freudenberg.de. Formerly in the original ; accessed on March 8, 2018 (no mementos ). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2

Cassian Schmidt: Hermannshof. Show and viewing garden (= garden trips ). Photos by Philippe Perdereau. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-8001-7837-7 (German licensed edition; original language: French).