Stuttgart – City Gardens (Schlossplatz, Killesberg, Schlossgarten, Wilhelma)

Hello everyone! In my last post I showed you the museums I went to in Stuttgart. Today in this post, I’d like to introduce to you the gardens. I went to Stuttgart in early April, when the grass started turning green and some of the flowers started blossoming. I have to say it’s a nice time to visit Stuttgart if you wanna find a place to follow spring. I’m sure in later spring or summer the views in the gardens are more beautiful. However, after the cold winter, when you for the first time again feel the warm sunshine, see the fresh green and flowers starting to blossom, it just feels, spring is not far behind anymore.

Now let’s have a look at the gardens I went to or I wanna recommend to you.

Schlossplatz

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Schlossplatz is the largest square in Stuttgart Mitte and home to the Neues Schloss which was built between 1746 and 1807. From its construction until the mid-1800s it was used as a military parade ground and not open to general public. It stands next to two other popular squares in Stuttgart: Karlsplatz to the south and Schillerplatz to the south west. The Königstraße (King Street) bisects the plaza from north to south.

Along with much of Stuttgart Mitte, Neues Schloss was heavily damaged during the Allied Bombing of World War II and the building was restored from 1958-1964 with a modernized interior that houses the ministries of Culture and the Treasury for the government of Baden-Württemberg. The entire square was last fully renovated in 1977 to mark the staging of the Bundesgartenschau (State Garden Show) in Stuttgart. The lawns and flowerbeds were renewed in 2006 following the staging of the 2006 World Cup Finals.

Killesberg

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The Killesbergpark (Höhenpark Killesberg) is an urban public park of half a square kilometre (123 acres) in Stuttgart, Germany. It is just north of the state capital, where Killesberg is a quarter of the borough of Stuttgart-Nord (North).

The park dates back to the horticultural show of 1939. Before the show, a large area of the park had been a quarry. It was transformed into a park with exhibition sites for the show, and has remained, hosting horticultural events on a regular basis, including the “Bundesgartenschau” and the IGA (Internationale Gartenbauausstellung), both garden festivals.

Every July the park hosts the popular Lichterfest Stuttgart. Thousands of lanterns are placed around the park, decorating the park for a variety of family activities throughout. After dark, there is a fireworks show accompanied by music. Visitors often bring blankets to sit on for the show.

Since its opening, the park has been home to the 381-millimetre narrow-gauge Killesberg railway. In the summer months, visitors can see two diesel and two steam locomotives, which have been fixtures in the park since 1950. The horticultural show of 1939 saw the opening of the railway, when two borrowed steam engines from Leipzig traversed a short stretch of track. During World War II, the steam engines were returned to Leipzig for use there. Today there are two diesel and two steam engines in use.

Killesberg tower

Completed in 2000 the Killesberg tower is an observation tower, 40m high overlooking the park. It is cable-stayed tower construction designed by Jörg Schlaich, using cable-stayed bridge technology. Before you go upstairs, don’t forget to pay 1-2 Euros to the machine next to the it. There are no sales people or ticket control, but we are civilized people haha. 😛

Schlossgarten

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The Stuttgart Castle Garden is a 600-year-old park in Stuttgart. It begins in the center and continues till Mercedesstrasse.

The total area of the castle garden is officially divided into three parts, which are separated by bridges with pedestrian walkways. The Upper Castle Garden extends from the Old and New Castle at Schlossplatz to Schiller Street. In the Middle Castle Garden you will see the Carl-Zeiss-Planetarium, the Schlossgarten lake with the “on the lake Cafe”, a big beer garden and the construction site of the main train station. The Lower Castle Garden joins to the mineral bath near the Cannstatter Neckarufer.

At its eastern end, near the Zoological and Botanical Garden Wilhelm, the castle garden joins with the Rosenstein Park. Both are part of the Stuttgart “Green U”.

 Rosenstein Park

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The Rosenstein Park in Stuttgart is the largest English garden in southwest Germany. Its creation took place from 1824 to 1840 on the orders of King William I of Württemberg after plans of his gardener Johann Bosch on the former Kahlenstein area. From 1817 to 1818 King William I had purchased all land on the Kahlenstein from the citizens of Cannstatt.

In the middle of the park the Rosenstein Palace was built from 1822 to 1830. The Wilhelma zoo and the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart are also located in the park. The Löwentor (Lion’s Gate) at the upper park entrance was built by Giovanni Salucci. The Rosensteintunnel is a railway tunnel beneath the park.

Today the park is owned by the State of Baden-Württemberg and preserved as a historical monument. In conjunction with the Schlossgarten, the Leibfried Garden, the Wartberg and the Killesbergpark it forms Stuttgart’s „Green U“. Because of the ban on hunting within the park it boasts 98.9 hares per 100 ha, the highest concentration of hares in Germany.

However, do choose a right season to go, otherwise you won’t see any roses, which is quite a disappointment.

Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden

Since I mentioned Rosensteinpark above I’d like to recommend to you the Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden as it’s right next to it. Unfortunately I didn’t visit it because I didn’t have enough time planned there. However, I heard from my Chinese friends that it’s definitely worth a visit.

Wilhelma is a zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart in the Bad Cannstatt District in the north of the city on the grounds of a historic castle. Wilhelma Zoo is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Baden-Württemberg, seeing more than 2 million visitors annually.

The Zoo and Botanical Garden have been staffed since 1846. The Moorish Revival style echoing the Alhambra have been maintained and supplemented since 1960. Today, the zoo has an area of about 30 hectares, houses around 11,500 animals from around the world composed of roughly 1,200 species and roughly 6000 plants from all climates. Of Germany’s zoos, Wilhelma’s collection ranks second only to the Berlin Zoological Garden.

  1. For more info about opening hours please click here.
  2. For more info about tickets please click here.

Bärensee and Rotwild Park

This is a place kind of far from the city center, which is why it is so quiet and peaceful. If you like walking and have enough time, I think you can come here for a walk or take your kids to the Rotwildpark, which is similar to a wild life park. You can see some animals, but the park is quite big so be prepared. wear comfortables shoes and check the routes. From Bärensee lake to across the wild life park, it takes around an hour by walking.

I have to admit I’ve never seen a city with so many large gardens, in the northern side, in the western side, even in the city center. I know that Hanover in Germany is called the Green City, and I think Stuttgart is also worth this reputation.

Wish you a nice spring trip to Stuttgart next year. 🙂

 

Stuttgart – City Gardens (Schlossplatz, Killesberg, Schlossgarten, Wilhelma) was last modified: June 25th, 2018 by Dong

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