Leisure hub
June 12, 2009
Berlin's Tiergarten is the biggest and oldest park in Berlin. Like Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London, it is a desperately needed, and much appreciated, oasis of green in a big, busy city.
Today, the park is good for walking, jogging, biking, grilling, rowing - and just hanging out on the grass. But if modern Berliners have a hard time imagining life without their all-important "green lung," they might be surprised to know that their appreciation was shared by past generations as well.
The park has existed for 500 years, and has been open to the public for the last 150 of them.
For outsiders, the name Tiergarten (it translates as Animal Park) can be confusing: It's not a zoo, as many surmise. The name comes from the 16th century, when it was used as a hunting ground by Brandenburg royalty.
Trees witnessed history
There's no longer any large game to be found here, but small animals, such as rabbits, squirrels, weasels and fox, abound.
Although the 210 hectares (520 acres) of parkland is criss-crossed by motorways, it is still considered to be the green oasis of the city - above all, due to the abundance of trees.
"We have mostly domestic trees, like beech and oak. But there are also less common varieties, like sweet gum, rhododendron and ginko," said the park's chief inspector, Juergen Goette.
The oldest tree in the park is an oak, "as you might expect here in Germany," said Goette. The specimen itself is about 350 years old and some 30 meters (100 feet) high. The trunk has a circumference of some 360 centimeters (12 feet).
"That's really enormous. It also survived two wars and is in excellent health today," he added.
Historic preservation
Park workers keep a special eye on that tree, and in fact, the entire park has been designated as under preservation for the past 18 years. It's the best way to preserve the works of Prussian landscape architects like Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff and Peter Joseph Lenne.
Park officials are also aware of the historic importance of the Tiergarten.
"This work of landscape art was the victim of the Second World War," said Klaus von Krosigk of the Berlin natural historical monuments office.
Tens of thousands of trees were bombed to death in the war, he said. What's more, until as late as 1950, the park was used as a public garden when food supplies were scarce, and milk cows were put to pasture there as well.
Park as political center
The Tiergarten hasn't only been a recreation spot, but a reflection of the social and political climate in Berlin as well. Nearly every generation since 1700 has set monuments here: poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, composer Richard Wagner, politician Karl Liebknecht, and Prussia's King Friedrich Wilhelm III all have monuments in the park.
Von Krosigk notes that the Berliners' attraction to the park is anything but new. Long ago, "people went out there on the weekends, they drank coffee... they just liked to be there. Oh, and smoking was allowed in the park, which was not the case in city of Berlin. There, smoking was forbidden."
The park has always been a place for political gatherings, too - whatever was not allowed in town. "Here in the Tiergarten, people could organize, they could gather together to discuss issues," von Krosigk added.
Cleanup issue
Today, the park is often used for leisure activities: There are walking paths, bike paths, playgrounds, and sunbathing spots for city dwellers. Many of those who spend time in the Tiergarten on a sunny weekend are there to celebrate birthdays, grill with friends and family, or just enjoy a day out in nature.
Other times, the park is used to host massive gatherings like the Love Parade or giant World Cup soccer celebrations.
Those big events take their toll on the natural surroundings. Every year after the first sunny day in Berlin, newspapers report in horrified tones on the mountains of trash that have been left behind by visitors. Only 20 people are employed as full-time park caretakers; they sometimes get help from jobless people who earn a little money on the side by collecting trash, or by criminal offenders who are working off their sentences doing public service in the park.
The park also has another role in Berlin: It acts as a miniature air conditioner for the big city. The Tiergarten is always a degree or two cooler than the surrounding area, and helps circulate air for the entire capital.
Author: Marika Adamosvska (jen)
Editor: Kate Bowen