Setagaya Park

The stone pagoda donated by the city of Setagaya in the park. (2017)

The Setagaya Park , also known as the Döbling Japanese Garden , was built between 1990 and 1992 according to plans by the Japanese garden designer Ken Nakajima (1914–2000) in the 19th district of Döbling in Vienna .

A friendship and cultural agreement had existed between Döbling and Setagaya , a district of Tokyo , since 1984/85, which gave rise to the idea of building a Japanese garden in Döbling. According to other sources, the park was also created on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the Austro-Japanese friendship treaty concluded in 1869 with the support of Tokyo-Setagaya, the sister district of Döbling. As early as 1988 a Japanese garden was to be built on the green area known to the population as Heinrichshügel .

layout

The park, built from 1990 to 1992 according to plans by the Japanese garden designer Ken Nakajima , was officially opened in May 1992. It symbolizes a Japanese landscape and has a spring, a waterfall, a pond, as well as stones and plants typical of Japanese gardens. In order to preserve the existing trees and due to the slope of the terrain, the park entrance was laid out in the southwest corner. From there, a few steps lead to the bamboo gate, which is in the Tokusabari style and which is modeled on the garden of the Shugakuin villa at the foot of the Hiei mountain on the northern edge of Kyoto . In addition to the main entrance, the park also has a barrier-free entrance. Right next to the main entrance is a stone monument in which, in Japanese script, the word Furomon ( Eng . Paradise) is carved. There are also other Japanese stone sculptures spread throughout the park, such as a stone stupa , a stone laterene or the sculpture of a stone pagoda .

Initially, a full-time employee was responsible for pruning work in the 4700 square meter park. The flora in the park is a mixture of traditional Japanese plants ( magnolia , flowering cherry or bamboo ) and plants and woody species native to Austria, which are often supposed to reflect a Japanese character. The water, which comes from a spring at the upper end of the park, flows under an arched wooden bridge just a few meters long over a series of waterfalls ( cascades ) into the water lily pond , where you can find fish, turtles and ducks. There is also a tea house right by the pond , in which traditional tea ceremonies are held a few times a year, but which is empty most of the time. A little further north of the first centrally located bridge there is another wooden bridge a few meters long with a higher railing. There are also some uncovered and covered seating in the park. Parts of the park, such as the tea house, the pagoda, the stone lantern and the entrance area are gifts from Setagaya and its mayor Keiji Ohba .

opening hours

The Setagaya Park is closed during the winter months (November 1st up to and including March 31st) and in wintry conditions. From April 1 to October 31, the park is open daily from 7 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. from May to August, at 8 p.m. in April and September and at 7 p.m. in October. There is a general ban on dogs in the park.

More Japanese gardens in Vienna

In addition to the Setagaya Park, there are a number of other Japanese gardens in Vienna, such as the Japanese Garden at Schönbrunn Palace , the Takasaki Park in the Kurpark Oberlaa , the Franz-Karl-Effenberg-Asiagarten on the premises of the vocational school for horticulture and floristry in Kagran , the courtyard 2 in Alten AKH am Alsergrund or the Kirschenallee on the Danube Island .