City park

Renovation work is in full swing

Several areas in the city park between Monheimsallee and Passstrasse are currently being renovated. These include the concert area next to the Neues Kurhaus, the rose garden, the flower terraces and the sunken garden. The renovation of the mini golf course has now also begun. The individual measures are being implemented as part of the "Parkpflegewerk" for the city park. The park maintenance work is a funded project of the Aachen 2022 city center concept. The current work began at the end of November 2023.

The main aim of the upcoming work is to expand tree locations and flowering areas and to renovate path surfaces, lighting and seating. The quality of use and enjoyment in the park is to be improved. In addition, parts of the historic park that are threatened by decay will be secured and renovated in the spirit of garden monument preservation. The lanes of the popular mini-golf course were so badly damaged that they could no longer be repaired. The course will be completely renovated.

As part of all the renovation work in the city park, 35 trees will be planted next spring. When selecting the tree species and creating new flower beds and flowering areas, the city will ensure that the plants are a good source of food for insects.

The maintenance and renovation work in the city park is expected to continue for another four months. The mini-golf course will be completed by the start of the season in April. Paths will have to be temporarily closed during individual construction phases. The work is planned in such a way that users of the city park are affected as little as possible.

Lots of space in the middle of the city

Aachen's city park is a green oasis of around 200,000 square meters in the middle of the city centre. The beginnings of this large park can be traced back to 1853. From this time onwards, the city gardener Carl Jancke laid out a garden for the local hospital based on a design by Peter Joseph Lenné. Lenné was the most renowned German garden artist of his time and general director of the Royal Prussian Gardens.

When the importance of the city of Aachen as a spa and bathing resort was to be revitalized with the construction of new spa facilities between 1914 and 1916, the grounds were adapted to the needs of spa guests and fundamentally redesigned. Over time, further areas were added, so that today the city park consists of the city garden, the spa garden, the former Protestant cemetery and Farwick Park.

Due to its cultural and garden-historical significance, the park and all its components were entered as a garden monument in the city's list of monuments in 1995.

A "park maintenance work" for the city park

In the meantime, the condition and quality of the park no longer meet current requirements in many areas and the historical structures of the park design have been increasingly lost over time. A "park maintenance plan" was therefore drawn up for the city park.

Landscape architects have drawn up a report. As part of this park maintenance work, the history of the city park was first researched in archives and old documents and then the current condition of the park was recorded. This means that the park vegetation, the structural elements and any damage and defects have been documented. With the help of the historical findings, the existing condition and structures of the park can be assessed and a conservation model developed. At the end of the park maintenance work, there is then a concept for how the city park can be preserved, renewed and maintained.

Cultural monument in use

The aim of the two-year project is to sustainably upgrade the Stadtpark Aachen, increase its quality of stay and usability and thus raise awareness of it as a coherent park among the people of Aachen. The park maintenance work is intended to make the history of the creation of this special park easier to understand and experience.

After all, the Stadtpark is an important cultural monument and a place where Aachen's history was written. At the same time, the park has important neighbors for Aachen, such as Quellenhof, Eurogress and Kurhaus. It is used intensively as a recreational area, sports and play zone, event venue and natural space in the city. The city park is a large and attractive green space with an impressive stock of old trees, exciting terrain movements and diverse, aesthetic views.