Westpark (Braunschweig)

Location of the Westpark in Braunschweig

The picture frame

View from Milleniumberg towards the city center at night

The 3.50 m high sculpture "The Chair"

Pavilion in the north

Between allotment gardens

Monument to the land consolidation

Fish pond

The Westpark is a park and a local recreation area in the west of the city of Braunschweig , north of the Weststadt district . The park extends on both sides of the Madamenweg .

Characteristic

The Braunschweiger Westpark is a mixed-use local recreation area that extends over an area of 240 hectares . The public parking areas within the area are currently 110.8 hectares, other areas take u. a. Allotments, agricultural areas, sports facilities and ponds. The south-western part partly takes on the features of a forest and offers protection for a wide variety of game species. There are also remains of the old Landwehr . The northeast is more rural and is criss-crossed by various wildflower meadows. In the north-western part there is a natural swimming pool, several ponds and fish ponds, as well as various small biotopes . According to earlier plans, a 36-hectare lake with an island, for which the name "Lehndorfer See" was intended, was to be created in the northeast of the Westpark. This was also to be found in old models of the Weststadt.

The concept of the Westpark includes planting with mostly native shrubs and trees.

To the north of the Madamenweg there is a small arboretum or a tree nature trail, whose original signs were no longer in good condition due to the weather, but have since been renewed. There are also some foreign trees there.

Viewpoints

There are currently three viewpoints in the Westpark. The northern vantage point, on which there is an information pavilion, offers a view of the city center of Braunschweig and the towers of the medieval churches. A second vantage point on a small hill on Madamenweg offers a view over the Westpark. Since this is now heavily overgrown, the hill offers only a limited view. Citizens of the Weststadt suggested the construction of a lookout tower on this hill, but the plans drawn up on it were not implemented.

The Milleniumberg in the eastern part of the park is another vantage point. This offers a total panoramic view of the city and far into the surrounding area, but is currently not always open to the public. The artificial hill should be the highest point in Braunschweig.

history

The Westpark was created from 1980 on the basis of an overall plan by G. Nagel and is currently still under development. In the early plans, the originally planned name "Madamenpark" was based on the Madamenweg.

One of the most important projects in recent years was primarily the creation of a three-row avenue of lime trees in an east-west direction with a footpath / cycle path and a riding path, the avenue is closed at both ends with trees planted in a circle. Originally it was planned to have four rows. Further avenues were created on the Vechteweg and the main cross-way.

In the east of the Westpark, a private investor planned the “Millenium” event area with an event hall, an open-air theater and a 200-meter-wide panoramic mountain formed from debris deposits, which when completed will represent the highest point in Braunschweig. The Milleniumberg already offers a clear view of the entire city of Braunschweig. With the exception of the completion of the event hall, work on the other projects has been on hold since 2008 following conflicts with the building inspectorate and the city administration and investigations.

From 2006 to 2007, the West Park in the south, on the edge of the western urban development, was expanded by 4.7 hectares. A playground and a toddler playground were also created. This was done as a replacement for the palace park built in 2005 by the ECE “ Schloss-Arkaden ” shopping center . A restaurant is to be built to the west of the large parking lot on Im Ganderhals. Another planning is the creation of flower meadows. A permanent wild shrub area is being created in the north-eastern area.

In April 2010, a disc golf course was opened in Westpark .

On the occasion of the European Conference of Junior Economists in June 2012 in Braunschweig, a tree should be planted in Westpark for each of the participants. The tree-planting campaign with the name JCI GoesGreen and Lord Mayor Hoffmann as patron is to take place in two stages: once in spring 2012 before the conference and once after the conference in autumn. Approx. 2500 trees that are exclusively native and appropriate to the location are planted, such as English oak, hornbeam, mountain ash, sycamore maple and bird cherry as high trunks , heister and forest products.

Trees have been planted in the north of Westpark since the 2000s, for which orphaned parents can sponsor to commemorate their deceased children. In 2017, a public barbecue area was built on Ganderhals. In 2019, the information boards on the tree nature trail in the north of the park were renewed and supplemented.

In 2020 the Westpark on Madamenweg will be expanded to include a labyrinth made of elephant grass. The labyrinth is said to have the shape of the Braunschweig logo (eidenbenz lion).

Arts and Culture

Sculptures and monuments

The park is enriched by some works of art that were designed and implemented by students from the Braunschweig University of Art . The sculptures were created in 1990 during the 2nd Braunschweig Sculpture Symposium. "The picture frame" is located near the Raffteich and the sculpture "The Information Pillar" in the southwest of the Westpark on the Timmerlaher Busch . The 3.50 meter high sculpture “The Chair” by the artist Martina Benz near the Westpark district sports facility was carved from a boulder from a quarry near Ibbenbüren. The rustic sculpture weighs 12 tons. The sculptures “The Couple” by the artist Anke Westermann are located on the panoramic mountain on Madamenweg. Later other works of art and monuments were erected by other artists. A memorial stone in the northeast commemorates the land consolidation in Westpark. Further monuments were erected on the still unfinished Millennium Mountain. The “pair of figures” are in the Weststadt near the Westpark .

Events

Every year there is a kite festival in Westpark and a three-day open air festival (Raffteich Open Air) in the Raffteichbad at the end of August / beginning of September. The open-air music festival WESTival was held four times from 2003 to 2010 at irregular intervals until it was further developed into the Weststadt summer festival.

sport and freetime

The Westpark offers several sports facilities for sporting activities. The Raffteich summer pool is located in the north-west of the Raffteich. The Westpark district sports facility is located on the Rheinring in the south of the park. The district sports facility has soccer fields and a tennis facility.

Several bridle paths have been designated for equestrian sports, especially north of the Madamenweg. To the west of the Vechteweg is a small playground with a mountain bike course.

A disc golf facility is installed in the park and can be used free of charge. The starting point is the viewing hill on Madamenweg. The course comprises 18 lanes on an area of two hectares.

In April 2015 the high ropes course Westpark opened, which enables recreational athletes to practice climbing outdoors. In July 2016, a calisthenics facility with a cross-generational trim facility was opened.

Plans for the State Garden Show in 1988

In 1979 the city decided to host the State Garden Show in 1988 in Westpark. G. Nagel and his employees developed a concept for the core area of the state horticultural show. However, the state horticultural show did not take place.

fauna

The Westpark provides a habitat for rare and endangered animals. Was observed u. a. Foxes and nightingales. In 2004 NABU counted 15 nightingale districts. Swan mussels can be found in the reef ponds .

Wet biotopes and flower meadows have been created and fallow areas have been reforested for the settlement of further animals.