Destination Germany

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March 2013

SPECIAL: ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Pforzheim | Baden-Baden Weil am Rhein

CITY BREAKS Bremen & Bremerhaven Düsseldorf | Berlin

REGIONS OF CULTURE Thuringia | Saxonia North Rhine Westphalia

www.destination-germany.co.uk

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UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE ZOLLVEREIN, GERMANY

THE CULTURAL HEART OF THE RUHR AREA Industrial Culture / Museums / Art / Concerts Dance / Events / Gastronomy / Nature

www.zollverein.de

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CONTENTS

S.07 Bremen

t Husum Kiel t Hamburg

t Schwerin

t

Hannover

t

Eisenach

Cologne

t

Berlin

t Weimar

S.09 Düsseldorf

Leipzig Dresden

t

t

Wiesbaden

t t Frankfurt tTrier Mainz Saarbrücken t Pforzheim tStuttgart Baden-Baden

t Nuremberg t Passau

tFreiburg

t Munich t

Konstanz

Towns & Cities

Regions of Culture

06 BREMEN & BREMERHAVEN

10 THURINGIA The masters of the

A tale of two cities

07 BREMEN Old Masters and Young Guns

07 BREMERHAVEN Wealth of attractions in the Seaside City

08 NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA Enjoy a city break

09 PARKS & PALACES A day full of splendour

09 HOTEL MUTTERHAUS A Düsseldorf hotel like no other

S.14 Pforzheim

Düsseldorf

t Münster t Dortmund

t

Potsdam Magdeburg

© Achim Mende/STG

Bremerhaven Bremen

Duesseldorf Tourismus GmbH

© Bremen Tourist Board

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‘Gesamtkunstwerk’

11 SAXONIA Holiday in the dual anniversary year

12 BERLIN Verdant oases in and around Germany’s capital

13 GARDEN DESIGN The poetry of nature

13 SCHLOSS IPPENBURG A celebration of garden design

14 ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN along the Upper Rhine

14 SCHMUCKMUSEUM PFORZHEIM

I M P RI NT

Five thousand years of jewellery

Destination Germany – charming • fascinating • enticing is published as a supplement to BMW Car Club UK, Mercedes-Benz Owners Club, Porsche Magazine March 2013 and Lonely Planet Traveller April 2013 Publisher: Typeline Werbeagentur GmbH & Co.KG, Hanauer Landstraße 192 DE-60314 Frankfurt, Tel. +49 (0)69 95 14 490, hallo@typeline.de, www.typeline.de Cover picture: Park and Palace of Nordkirchen, © Foto Oliver Franke/Tourismus NRW e.V. Translation: LingServe Limited, www.lingserve.com. Text reprints and picture reprints or copies only with prior permission.

All information obtained from sources at the stated organisations and companies. As at February 2013.

MEDIA

Š panthermedia.net/Lutz Biesterfeld

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TOWNS & CITIES Cultural attractions and chic shopping. Great art and happy, smiling faces.

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© panthermedia.net / Uwe Scheinpflug

© Reiner Grasses/Tourismus NRW e.V.

© panthermedia.net/Thomas Becker

Bremen Böttcherstraße Düsseldorf ‘Säulenheilige Marlis’ MedienHafen Essen UNESCO World Heritage Zeche Zollverein Cologne Historic town hall

Unusual perspectives and untrodden paths Broadening your horizons while enjoying life to the full

Germany’s cities have it all –

enthralling museums and attractions for unforgettable

they offer an exciting fusion of

days out. Major events such as the Van de Velde Year,

architectural treasures from past

the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth and the

and present. The Hanseatic city of

Battle of the Nations dual anniversary are accompanied

Bremen on the Weser river and the

by fantastic entertainment programmes. And away from

nearby port of Bremerhaven

all the hustle and bustle, idyllic parks and gardens provide

combine maritime flair with

unexpected havens of tranquillity.

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Bremen Town hall at the historial market square

Bremerhaven Havenwelten

BREMEN & BREMERHAVEN A tale of two cities

Highlight Maritime Festival 02-04/08/2013 The harbour and maritime mile in the Vegesack district of Bremen will once again provide the venue for the internationally acclaimed Maritime Festival. More than thirty bands, musicians and choirs from many countries will be featuring at this maritime music extravaganza, which will kick off on the Friday night at 8pm.

Harbour Worlds Summer Festival 2013 Spread out across a number of weekends during the summer, the Harbour Worlds Summer Festival – featuring music, boats, art and culture – is ideal for making the most of the warm days and balmy summer nights by the water. The wide-ranging family events around the harbour basin are all held in the open-air and are free of charge.

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Lighthouses dotted along the Weser together with the seagulls overhead point the way into Bremerhaven, the largest city on Germany’s North Sea coast, for ships arriving into port. As visitors stroll along the Weser dyke, which stretches for miles, they feel the unmistakeable Bremerhaven sea air on their faces. The dyke leads to the world’s oldest Hanseatic cargo ship, a fascinating monument to seafaring history anchored at the German Maritime Museum.

Discover the Seaside City of Bremerhaven In 1827 Bremen’s Mayor Johann Smidt founded the Seaside City of Bremerhaven, the port for the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, 60 km north of Bremen where the Weser river flows into the North Sea. In this young city, tradition and modernity go hand in hand, and its proximity to the sea can be felt at every turn. Visitors wanting to spend a relaxing day here will be spoilt for choice. Not only is there beautiful surrounding scenery but also a wide range of cultural attractions. On the east side of the new port is the German Emigration Center, opened in 2005 and now one of the city’s highlights. Europe’s largest interactive museum on the subject of migration, it describes people’s quest for a better life on the other side of the Atlantic and received the 2007 European Museum of the Year Award for its vivid depiction of emigration between 1830 and 1974. Whether it’s local history at Bremerhaven Historical Museum, fascinating climate research at Klimahaus® Bremerhaven 8° Ost or polar bears, penguins and seals at the Zoo at the Sea, there is plenty to discover and learn about.

On the trails of the Bremen Town Musicians The animal theme continues in Bremen with the Brothers Grimm fairytale, the ‘Bremen Town Musicians’. The four animals in the story, who experience all kinds of hair-raising adventures on their way to the city, are immortalised in a bronze statue outside Bremen’s 600-year-old town hall.

The town hall is the perfect place to start a discovery tour of historic Bremen. The building, with its ornately decorated Weser Renaissance facade, and the Roland statue in front of it have been awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO. Visitors doing all that exploring will work up a healthy appetite for curly kale and pinkel sausage, labskaus stew or knipp: admittedly, these local specialities may sound a little unusual but that doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious! The combination of country life and proximity to the sea are at the heart of traditional Bremen fare.

In Bremerhaven, on the other hand, which is around 60 kilometres nearer to the coast, the cuisine is heavily weighted towards fish. The historical part of Bremerhaven’s fishing port, which is over 100 years old, has been transformed into a maritime attraction unrivalled in northern Germany. Smart restaurants rub shoulders with cosy harbourside pubs in the old packing hall IV. Here you can watch live demonstrations of fish smoking and sample or take home all manner of fish specialities. In the sea-fish cooking studio you can get handy tips from the professionals on how to prepare delicious fish dishes at home.

Are you getting a taste for Bremen and Bremerhaven?

© BTZ Bremer Touristik-Zentrale, BIS Bremerhaven Touristik

Bremen and Bremerhaven make up Germany’s smallest federal state, yet have more to offer than many other places. As a maritime centre on the Weser river and North Sea coast, they combine the traditional with the modern, the informative with the entertaining – all the right ingredients for a memorable city break.

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Old Masters and Young Guns in BREMEN

La Strada Street circus festival

…SP ECIAL TRI PS ➊

© BTZ Bremer Touristik-Zentrale

Bremen Kunsthalle

Avant garde and tradition, local customs and experimentation, history and nature – Bremen’s museums are incredibly diverse.

Bremen Tourist Board

Bremen, the cosmopolitan city on the Weser river, looks back on 1,200 years of history. Although the grand old buildings around the market square betray its roots as a Hanseatic trading centre, Bremen has the feel of a modern city on the up with a thriving art and culture scene.

The Kunsthalle is Bremen’s oldest museum and its private collection of fine art is one of the most distinguished in Germany. After being extensively and sensitively redesigned, the gallery has a modern feel yet has lost none of its former elegance. The collection of paintings and sculptures at the Kunsthalle spans the period from the 15th century to the present day. Located on the Teerhof peninsula in the middle of the Weser river is the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, one of Germany’s largest museums of contemporary art. The presentation of modern art from private collections of international calibre lies at the heart of the museum’s artistic programme. Innovation by tradition – with its exciting worlds of discovery and science centres, Bremen proves that science is anything but dry and boring. The secret is having the right mix – sound information that is clearly explained and vividly presented. Whether it’s Universum Bremen, the botanika or the Ethnological Museum, these attractions really know how to bring their subjects to life

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Accommodation and more information: www.bremen-tourism.de Tel. +49 (0)421 30800-10

TIP

Comic book art is the subject of a special exhibition here entitled ‘KABOOM!’, on from 8 June to 6 October 2013.

Seaside City of BREMERHAVEN: wealth of attractions The largest city on Germany’s North Sea coast offers maritime worlds of discovery and a wide range of shops.

Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8° Ost

…SP ECIAL TRI PS ➋

© BIS Bremerhaven Touristik, Klimahaus® Bremerhaven 8° Ost, Foto: Jan Rathke

Bremerhaven Shop Window Fishery Harbor

Bremerhaven Tourist Board H.-H.-Meier-Straße 6 | DE-27568 Bremerhaven Tel. +49 (0)471 946 46 100 | Fax +49 (0)471 946 46 190 touristik@bis-bremerhaven.de | www.bremerhaven-tourism.de

At the Harbour Worlds complex in Bremerhaven, right next to the dyke, even the animals at the Zoo at the Sea have a view of the water.

The interactive museums and worlds of discovery have their fingers on the pulse. Modern exhibition concepts allow us to make sense of the present by looking back at the past. Subjects such as migration at the German Emigration Center and climate change at Klimahaus® Bremerhaven 8° Ost or modern treasure hunts at the German Maritime Museum capture the imagination of hundreds of thousands of visitors. At the Bremerhaven Historical Museum, life and work along the coast are vividly recreated with models and exhibits – the same is true of Germany’s oldest dry dock opposite. And all this just a stone’s throw from the main shopping street together with the Columbus Center, the shopping paradise between the glass-roofed pedestrian area and the Havenwelten complex. Gourmet fish restaurants, restaurant ships, shrimps straight from the boat and freshly smoked fish to go – all this and more can be found at the Fishery Harbor waterfront. The old fishing port with packing halls built from red clinker bricks is today a promenade featuring attractions such as the Atlanticum sea water aquarium, the Gera museum trawler and the Phänomenta science center

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TIP

Events 2013: 7-28/04 Fish Party, 18-20/05 Dyke Spectacle, 24-28/07 39th Bremerhaven Festival Week.

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Münster View of St. Lambert’s Church

Düsseldorf Neuer Zollhof by architect Frank O. Gehry

Enjoy a city break in NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA Culture hotspot and shopping mecca: the choice of museums, events, pedestrian boulevards and shopping arcades is almost endless. Also, affordable hotel rates at weekends make North Rhine-Westphalia the perfect destination for a short break.

Tourismus NRW e.V. Völklinger Straße 4 DE-40219 Düsseldorf Tel. +49 (0)211 913 20 500 info@nrw-tourismus.de www.tourism-nrw.com

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Shopping has a long tradition in Essen. In the 1920s the city became the first in Germany to designate a pedestrian area, which today takes shoppers past exclusive jewellers, chic fashion boutiques and trendy young stores to the huge Limbecker Platz shopping centre. And speaking of huge: the red dot design museum at the Zollverein mine houses the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary design over five levels. In Münster visitors can enjoy a stroll in historical surroundings.

On Prinzipalmarkt with its medieval archways there are exquisite specialist shops as well as department stores for the discerning shopper. It is easy to combine a shopping spree with some art appreciation too – with a visit to the Pablo Picasso Art Museum, for example. Two cultural beacons light up the Teutoburg Forest: the MARTa Museum in Herford, stunningly designed by acclaimed architect Frank O. Gehry, and Bielefeld Kunsthalle, the only museum building in Europe by architect Philip Johnson

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TIP

Art on a grand scale can be enjoyed at the Gasometer in Oberhausen from 16/03-30/12/13.

The artist Christo, famous for wrapping buildings, is creating a cathedral of air entitled ‘Big Air Package’. The giant industrial monument will house the largest sculpture in the world, with a height of 90 metres, a diameter of 50 metres and a volume of 177,000 cubic metres At the foot of the gasometer, the CentrO, Europe’s largest shopping and leisure centre, is perfect for a spot of retail therapy. www.tourism-nrw.com/events

© RTG; Schlutius, Oliver Franke/Tourismus NRW e.V.

Essen UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein

Flights from London to the airports of North Rhine-Westphalia take about an hour and even within the region everything is easy to reach. In the towns and cities of the Rhineland and Westphalia, theatres and museums rub shoulders with exquisite boutiques and shopping arcades. With over 900 museums, North Rhine-Westphalia has one of the densest concentrations of cultural establishments in Europe, comparable to Paris and London. The Kunstsammlung NRW an the Kunstpalast Museum in Düsseldorf, the Ludwig Museum and Wallraff Richartz Museum in Cologne, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn and the Folkwang Museum in Essen have long made a name for themselves with their exhibitions of international standing. The mighty cathedral is the focal point in the city of Cologne. It is one of four UNESCO World Heritage sites in North RhineWestphalia, the others being Aachen Cathedral, Augustusburg Palace in Brühl and the Zollverein mine in Essen. Only a stone’s throw from Cologne Cathedral is the start of Schildergasse, the mostvisited shopping street in Germany. The neighbouring city of Düsseldorf is the regional capital of North Rhine-Westphalia and has an international reputation as a city of fashion and art. The Königsallee or Kö, as the luxury shopping boulevard is known for short, is lined with the stores of the world’s leading fashion labels. Nearby are the galleries of the Kunstsammlung NRW, the K20 and K21, which in 2013 are hosting three monographic exhibitions of the internationally acclaimed artists Wolfgang Tillmans, Alexander Calder and Tomás Saraceno.

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Düsseldorf Benrath Palace

Kaiserswerth Imperial palace

PARKS & PALACES A day full of splendour

Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourismus GmbH

Green is a dominant colour in Düsseldorf. Almost one fifth of the city’s total surface is covered by recreation areas, green spaces and forest. There are also numerous castles and palaces. The following itinerary is your basis for a day full of nature and history.

Düsseldorf’s tradition as a garden city dates back far into the 18th century, when Nicolas de Pigage created the Hofgarten, Germany’s first public garden. Because of its diversity and the pleasing contrast between nature and formal design, it’s the green lung of the city and a popular destination for relaxing walks. Start your day at Schloss Jägerhof, a former hunting lodge, now home to the Goethe Museum, and cross Hofgarten in a northwest direction until you arrive at Tonhalle/Ehrenhof.

From here, take a tram to Benrath Palace.

Benrath Palace and Park Benrath Palace was built as a pleasure and hunting palace for the elector Carl Theodor. Today, the ensemble in its artistic unity of buildings, interior and gardens, is considered one of Europe’s rare total works of art of the late baroque period.

The main palace building (Corps de Logis) with its furniture, paintings etc. gives an impression of court life in the second half of the 18th century. The eastern wing houses the Museum of European Garden Art and the western wing the Museum of Natural Sciences.

From relaxation to mighty ruins Synonymous with relaxation, and adorned with fountains, sculptures, beautiful mature trees, decorative flowerbeds, playgrounds, an Aquazoo and a Japanese Garden, the 36.6-hectare Nordpark is doubtlessly one of the most popular in Düsseldorf. A day in Düsseldorf’s parks and palaces is not complete without visiting the ruins of Barbarossa’s imperial palace in Kaiserswerth.

On the edge of the district’s picturesque centre, the mighty ruins rise directly from the river bank

Highlight Explore Düsseldorf on the Rhine Experience the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, its places of interest between the Old Town, MedienHafen and Kaiserswerth, during a glorious panoramic cruise on board one of Düsseldorf’s beautiful excursion boats. www.visitduesseldorf.de

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A Düsseldorf hotel like no other This fabulous hotel, set in an idyllic park, offers home comforts and luxury in a fine historical building.

There are 55 beautifully furnished guest rooms and a range of function rooms for all kinds of events.

www.hotel-mutterhaus.de

Das MutterHaus • Hotel und Tagungszentrum GmbH Geschwister-Aufricht-Str. 1 (formerly: Alte Landstr. 179) DE-40489 Düsseldorf Telefon: +49 211/6 17 27-0 Telefax: +49 211/6 17 27-15 04

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Eisenach UNESCO World Heritage Wartburg

Weimar Haus Hohe Pappeln

The masters of the ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ in Thuringia

Highlight Wagner and Wartburg Castle The exhibition ‘…I still owe the world a Tannhäuser – Wagner, Tannhäuser and Wartburg Castle’, on from 18 May 2013 to 31 March 2014, gives visitors an insight into Richard Wagner and his connection to Wartburg Castle.

22 May 2013 marks 200 years since the birth of Leipzig-born music dramatist Richard Wagner.

During the first half of his life especially, he had close associations with the state of Thuringia, and in particular the towns of Weimar, Eisenach, Meiningen, Jena and Rudolstadt. It is well worth visiting not only the festival town of Bayreuth but also these places where Wagner spent his early years to find out more about his vision of opera as a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ or ‘total work of art’. And there are plenty of opportunities to do so because the theatres, concert halls, castles and palaces of Thuringia are putting on operas, concerts, plays, exhibitions and sightseeing tours documenting the work and legacy of this revolutionary composer.

From Weimar to Wartburg Castle Considered a ‘politically dangerous’ artist, Richard Wagner found safe hideouts in and around Weimar and well-disposed supporters, most notably Franz Liszt. Anyone interested in discovering more about Wagner’s life should be sure to pay a visit to the Liszt Museum. The town of Eisenach, home to Wartburg Castle, is also playing a major part in the Wagner anniversary year in 2013. Richard Wagner often visited Eisenach and Wartburg Castle, today a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is well worth making the ascent to the castle, which is crowned by a three-metre-high gold cross.

Richard Wagner was impressed by the castle and its surrounding area, which was said to be the location of the legendary Singers’ Contest in the High Middle Ages and which Wagner immortalised in his Tannhäuser opera.

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The dawn of Modernism Henry van de Velde, born in Antwerp in 1863, was a revolutionary of a very different kind. He was one of the most influential designers and architects of his day. He saw himself as a driving force in the move away from a jaded era to a new style consistent with Nietzsche’s ‘new man’. Assuredly turning his back on tradition, van de Velde disregarded the conventional boundaries between arts and crafts and applied his philosophy to the design of almost every area of life: the structure of buildings, the layout of rooms and the styling of clothing and jewellery. He also designed everyday objects such as lights, furniture and even letter openers. One of the last great all-round artists, he is credited with having paved the way for the Bauhaus School. Weimar and Thuringia are embracing the 150th anniversary of Henry van de Velde’s birth in 2013 as an opportunity to honour and celebrate the artist and his achievements in a series of exhibitions. But it’s not just Weimar that will be presenting his works, together with those of his contemporaries and the people who influenced him; Erfurt, Jena, Apolda, Bürgel, Gera and Chemnitz are also commemorating van de Velde and those associated with him in a series of exhibitions, which start on 24 March in Weimar with van de Velde’s contribution to European Modernism and end on 19 January 2014 in Chemnitz with an exploration of his links to the Bauhaus. Each of the participating towns and cities has its own accommodation packages and itineraries to acquaint visitors with Henry van de Velde and his great artistic legacy

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© Wartburg Stiftung, Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Leipziger Marketing- und Tourismus GmbH/Schmidt

Two important anniversaries are being celebrated in 2013: the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth, which has special connections to the towns of Weimar, Eisenach and Jena, and the Van de Velde Year commemorating 150 years since the birth of the Flemish architect and designer.

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Cospuden harbour

Leipzig Battle of Nations monument

Holiday in the dual anniversary year

© Tourismusverband Erzgebirge e.V., Westend-PR/Methode 21, Tourismusverband Erzgebirge e.V, Ronny Schwarz, TV Leipziger Neuseenland e.V.

Two hundred years ago, the armies of a number of nations engaged in a great battle just outside Leipzig. A hundred years ago, the monument to the battle was completed and it is now one of Leipzig’s most famous landmarks.

The highest peak of the Erzgebirge mountains

From the Battle of the Nations to a symbol of peace For Leipzig and the surrounding region, October 2013 is all about commemorating, celebrating and participating. In the autumn of 1813, the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig marked the turning point in the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon’s troops.

Involving as many as 600,000 soldiers from more than a dozen countries, the Battle of the Nations went down in history as the largest battle ever fought until the beginning of the 20th century. A hundred years later, the Battle of the Nations monument was inaugurated. Its viewing platform is 91 m high and it is one of the largest monuments in Europe. During the anniversary year in 2013, residents of the city, academics, ecclesiastical dignitaries and political figures from all over Europe will be congregating in Leipzig to reflect on the past and look to the future. The highlight is the weeklong festival in October.

A new recreational region taking shape Nine lakes on your doorstep and an unspoilt carfree route through the municipal park to get you there: the Leipzig lakes (Leipziger Neuseenland) are a great place to visit. Who would have thought it 20 years ago? An industrial landscape dominated by mining is being transformed into a holiday region with so much to offer. The lignite mine, once a spoiled landscape, is now an exceptionally varied destination for leisure and recreation. Lying in the sand, wild water rafting at the canoeing park, cooling off in crystal-clear waters or riding upside down on a rollercoaster at Belantis theme park: between Lake Cospuden and Lake Zwenkau there are many places that merit a stop. Culture doesn’t go amiss either: Borna’s historical old quarter with the Emmauskirche church (which was relocated to make way for a lignite mine), the ancient ruins of Wiprechtsburg castle and baroque Wiederau Palace are little gems set amid idyllic countryside.

City of freedom Leipzig, a city of trade fairs and music, was instrumental in changing the course of contemporary history when the Monday demonstrations took place there. All the city’s landmarks stand for peace and freedom. The non-violent Monday demonstrations of 1989 were the catalyst for Germany’s reunification. At every turn you can discover traces of its long and colourful history dating back to the Middle Ages. Leipzig is also proud of its reputation as the third-greenest city in Germany. The unique Auenwald riverside woodland park is a green belt area that runs from north to south. Although not a coastal city, Leipzig has a special relationship with the water: it has more than 300 bridges, a dozen or so natural and manmade waterways and a wharf.

Tradition meets technology The way in which industrialisation affects the land and the people, while at the same time organically creating new cultural treasures, can be seen at close hand in the Erzgebirge mountains. This holiday region is the home of the nutcracker, the ‘smoking man’ incense burner, the candle arch and the Christmas pyramid. They are a product of Saxony’s long mining heritage, which is vividly brought to life along the Saxon Silver Mines Route both above and below ground. The route runs from Zwickau in the western part of the region to Dresden and connects a number of attractions.

Saxony’s car manufacturing industry also originated in the Erzgebirge region. The success story started in 1904 in Zwickau thanks to August Horch and ended with the legendary Trabant in 1991

Highlight Kulturinsel Einsiedel Some 17 km north of Görlitz on the border between Germany and Poland is the Kulturinsel Einsiedel family fun park. This fantastic attraction is basically one giant adventure playground and features unusual play equipment, treehouses made from natural materials and a large number of play areas.

A unique treehouse hotel opened on the site in June 2005. www.kulturinsel.de

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Berlin Tiergarten Park

Gardens of the World

BERLIN Verdant oases in and around Germany’s capital Germany’s capital is a hive of activity. But away from all the politics, parties and sightseeing, Berlin has a great many parks and gardens ideal for enjoying leisurely strolls and peace and quiet or just watching the world go by.

Potsdam’s Night of the Palaces Nowhere else is the pomp and glory of the Prussian baroque better represented than in the grounds of Sanssouci Palace. Every year the park is magnificently illuminated for the Night of the Palaces, creating a wonderfully romantic atmosphere.

The 15th Night of the Palaces is taking place on 17 Aug 2013 and features concerts, dance performances, plays and literary talks.

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Between Potsdamer Platz, the government district, Brandenburg Gate and the ‘Zoo’ station is Tiergarten Park – the green heart of Berlin. It is an oasis of green amid the bustling urban streets of the capital and covers around 210 hectares. In the late 17th century, Elector Friedrich III turned this former hunting park into a ‘pleasure ground for the people’. It has been altered and improved over the centuries, including to designs by famous landscape gardener Peter Joseph Lenné, and is today a magnet for visitors who come to jog, rollerblade, play football, walk, sunbathe or enjoy a barbecue with friends.

Home to 22,000 plant varieties, Berlin Botanical Garden is one of the top three botanical gardens in the world and offers 43 hectares for visitors to stroll around at their leisure. Fifteen greenhouses are arranged in a geometric pattern on the eastern edge of the park, among them the large tropical greenhouse built in 1907, which is 25 m high and around 1,700 m2 in area. It is one of the largest in the world and a superb example of the glass and steel architecture of the 19th century.

The Lustgarten (pleasure garden) located in front of Berlin’s museum island and Berlin Cathedral once belonged to Berlin Palace. At that time, the first potatoes were planted in what used to be a fruit and herb garden. Today, in the summer, these lawns are given over to sunbathers. Even locals will be surprised to discover that Marzahn-Hellersdorf is one of the greenest districts of Berlin.

One of its green oases is the ‘Gardens of the World’ which features traditional gardens themed on Asia, Europe and the Orient.

The ‘garden state’ of Brandenburg With its wealth of fantastic parks, Brandenburg can justifiably be called the ‘garden state’ of Germany.

The palaces and parks of Potsdam, including Sanssouci Park, the New Garden and Babelsberg Park, plus the landscaped park of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau in Branitz are outstanding attractions and have UNESCO World Heritage status. There are also many other exceptional horticultural treasures to discover – from the prestigious parks of the Prussian palaces to the countryside ‘courts of the muses’, abbey gardens, country estates and public parks. But it’s not just Peter Joseph Lenné, Prince Hermann von PücklerMuskau and Eduard Petzold who have made their mark here in the form of magnificent parks and landscape designs. Modern landscape gardeners such as Karl Foerster and Hermann Göritz have also left an indelible stamp.

Retreat for the Prussian king Sanssouci Palace floats above the six terraces of a verdant vineyard like a mediterranean dream. It is one of the most famous royal residences in the world. Sanssouci’s creator brought forth a magnificent work of art out of nothing on a hill on the outskirts of Potsdam, then a provincial backwater.

While other regents had huge representative buildings constructed for themselves, Prussia’s great king preferred a small, private palace. At its centre is the oval marble hall; this was the scene of the legendary ‘round table’ meetings, where the philosopher king debated with the leading thinkers of Europe

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© visitBerlin.de/Koch, Grün Berlin

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Hannover Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden paradise

© Florian Monheim / www.bildarchiv-monheim.de, TourismusMarketing Niedersachsen GmbH, Lars Gerhardts

GARDEN DESIGN The poetry of nature Strolling along picturesque paths, finding idyllic resting places to pause, enjoying the different floral varieties and arrangements – seeing nature as a work of art is for many the most wonderful form of relaxation.

Inspired by Italian, French and English garden design, kings and princes created verdant oases in Germany, whose beauty can still be enjoyed today. Numerous themed routes and collaborative projects such as ‘Garden Dreams – Historic Parks in Saxony-Anhalt’ and the ‘Garden Heritage Route’ enable visitors to discover a wonderful array of parks and gardens where they can lose themselves in a world of peace and tranquillity.

At the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen near Hannover, one of the largest gardens in Europe, the tradition of lavish baroque fireworks is still kept very much alive. On several dates during the summer, spectacular displays bathe the gardens in a magical glow. The numerous parks and gardens in Niedersachsen still capture the charm of longforgotten times. Grand, ornamental gardens inspired by classical designs enjoy pride of place alongside abbey and castle gardens from the Middle Ages. The Osnabrücker Land region, which extends from Teutoburg Forest to the Dutch border, is home to some of the most beautiful

Bad Essen Ippenburg Palace

parks and gardens in Niedersachsen. It was at Ippenburg Palace near Bad Essen that the tradition of the German garden festival began in 1998.

Only a few miles away are two of the region’s most beautiful moated castles, Schelenburg and Schloss Hünnefeld.

A paradise born of the Age of Enlightenment Noblemen, artists and horticulturalists journeyed from all over Europe to marvel at this glorious achievement. This was all thanks to the young prince Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740 1817), who was obsessed with the idea of turning his small realm into a paradise of the Age of Enlightenment. ‘Father Franz’ also wanted Wörlitz’s very own Garden of Eden to serve utilitarian purposes. It was made freely accessible to all his subjects, giving them the chance to better themselves amid natural surroundings. The pièce de résistance is the 112-hectare Wörlitz Park, surrounded by the sweeping meadowlands that now make up part of the Middle Elbe biosphere reserve

Highlight The Versailles of Westfalia The palace of Nordkirchen with its extensive park and gardens is the main tourist attraction of the municipality of Nordkirchen and a favourite goal for an outing all year round. The basic structures of the gardens and park are remarkably well preserved and are among the most beautiful in Europe. www.schloss.nordkirchen.net/en

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© Schloss Ippenburg

A celebration of garden design Ippenburg Palace is synonymous with garden design at its finest and most diverse. Fifteen show gardens, Germany’s largest and most varied kitchen garden plus Ippenburg’s latest highlight, the Rosarium 2000+. The horticultural season gets under way on 13/14 April with the daffodil festival and displays of over 80,000 tulips. The season comes to a close with the autumn festival on 14/15 September.

ART INDICATOR

Schloss Ippenburg

13/04 – 15/09/2013

Schloss Ippenburg Schlosstraße 1 DE-49152 Bad Essen www.ippenburg.de Opening times: 11am-7pm Daffodil Festival: 13-14/04 Tulip Displays: 20-21/04, 27-28/04, 04-05/05, 11-12/05 The joys of the country and the garden: 20-23/06 Autumn Country Festival: 14-15/09

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Pforzheim City view

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN along the Upper Rhine

Worlds of Jewellery For almost two and a half centuries, the gold town of Pforzheim has been the centre of the German jewellery and clock making industry. This is where the ‘Schmuckwelten‘ were opened on 17 June 2005 – a new realm of experience celebrating the fascination of precious jewels and timekeepers from all angles. www.schmuckwelten.de

‘Gold City’ of Pforzheim Situated on the fringes of the northern Black Forest, the city of Pforzheim was rebuilt after the war in the style of the times. Even in the Middle Ages, Pforzheim was one of the most important cities of the country – until 1565 it was the residence of the Margraves of Baden. Today Pforzheim is known as the ‘city of gold’. It is the leading location for the jewellery and watch industry in Germany and boasts a fascinating jewellery museum at the Reuchlinhaus. The name of Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522) is connected with memories of the prime of renaissance art and science. The Reuchlinhaus is a highlight of postwar modernism that has become famous far beyond the region. Designed as the city’s arts centre by Manfred Lehmbruck, son of sculptor

Wilhelm Lehmbruck, the building unites elements of the International Style, inspired by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. Pforzheim’s Schmuckwelten (worlds of jewellery) is a shopping and visitor centre unlike any other in Europe. It specialises in jewellery and watches, offering lots of attractive products for every trend and lifestyle in an area of over 4,000 square metres. At its ‘Jewellery Discovery World’, visitors can hold gold bullion in their hands or embark on an exciting virtual journey into outer space. The ‘World of Minerals’ features around 5,000 exhibits, with a particular focus on the minerals of the Black Forest. And at the ‘Transparent Factory’, visitors can watch goldsmiths and watchmakers at work.

Unusual events and fashion shows also take place on a regular basis here.

Five thousand years of jewellery The Pforzheim Jewellery Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the history of jewellery. Visitors can expect to see fabulous exhibits from antiquity and the Renaissance and art nouveau eras as well as a sensational collection of modern jewellery. The Reuchlinhaus in which the museum is located is a masterwork in the International Style.

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Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim

Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim Jahnstraße 42 DE-75173 Pforzheim Opening hours: tu - su and holidays 10 am - 5 pm (except 24 and 31 dec) www.schmuckmuseum.de

© Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim Valentin Wormbs, Günther Meyer

Highlight

© Achim Mende/STG

The Black Forest holiday region, stretching from Pforzheim and Baden-Baden in the north to Freiburg and Weil am Rhein in the south, is known all over the world for its unspoilt scenery and time-honoured traditions. But it is also home to some spectacular examples of contemporary art and architecture.

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© Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Vitra Design Museum, photo: Thomas Dix

Baden-Baden Berlijn Kulturforum Museum Potsdamer Frieder Burda Platz

Weil am Rhein Vitra Design Museum

The elegant spa town of Baden-Baden In the 19th century, the elegant spa town of BadenBaden was considered the summer capital of Europe. A charming reminder of that era for today’s visitors is Lichtentaler Allee, a 350-year old park that extends for three kilometres. Stylish stores, jewellers and boutiques are the main shopping attractions in Baden-Baden, while the town’s ‘art and cultural mile’ with its fountains and monuments is a place for enjoying the finer things in life. Nonetheless, nature is never too far away – BadenBaden boasts not only an extensive spa park but also Germany’s largest municipal forest by area.

The Frieder Burda Museum, dedicated to art of the 20th and 21st centuries, is seamlessly integrated into the glorious parkland along Lichtentaler Allee, its proportions blending in perfectly with the adjacent State Art Gallery. The building itself is outstanding; a naturally lit museum, designed by the famous New York architect, Richard Meier.

Great efforts were made to keep as many trees in this area as possible so that the Frieder Burda Museum could merge into the surrounding natural scenery. The shape, lines and dimensions of the new building correspond to the height of the storeys and the gable of the neo-classical State Art Gallery, with both institutions maintaining their own individual architectural identity.

Vitra Design in Weil am Rhein Just outside Basel, in the southern foothills of the Black Forest where Germany borders France and Switzerland, lies Weil am Rhein, known as the ‘city of chairs’. It owes this sobriquet largely to the furniture producer Vitra, which in 1989 opened a museum for its extensive collection of chairs – now one of the biggest and most important in the world – in a building designed by architect Frank O. Gehry. The Vitra Design Museum hosts various themed exhibitions, retrospectives and workshops in the fields of architecture and design. It is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present, and examines its relationship to architecture, art and everyday culture. Approximately 70,000 guests visit the design museum on the average in the year. The architectural park at Vitra’s corporate premises, which in addition to Gehry’s masterpiece includes buildings by celebrated architects such as Tadao Ando, Nicholas Grimshaw, Zaha Hadid and Alvaro Siza, has changed the image and identity of this former railway town at Germany’s border. Design is a part of life in Weil am Rhein. More than 20 businesses, shops and restaurants have already embraced the ‘city of chairs’ concept. This is reflected in the oversized scale models of designer chairs that decorate numerous roofs and squares in the town

Highlight Breisach Theatre Festival Breisach Theatre Festival has taken place at the historical openair theatre on Schlossberg hill for 50 years. There are 748 covered seats for the all-weather performances held every year from June to September. www.festspiele-breisach.de

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Breisach-Touristik Marktplatz 16 D-79206 Breisach am Rhein Tel. +49 (0) 7667 940155 breisach-touristik@breisach.de

Welcome!

To our charming town upon the Rhine situated between the Black Forest and Alsace.

www.breisach.de

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