The Killesbergpark (Höhenpark Killesberg) is an urban

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

of half a square kilometre (123

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s) in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

show of 1939. Before the show, a large area of the park had been a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

. 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. The Killesbergpark bordered for many years the city's

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

grounds. In 2007, Messe Stuttgart moved to new ground close to Stuttgart Airport. 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.

Killesberg railway

Since its opening, the park has been home to the 381-millimetre (15-inch) narrow-gauge Killesberg railway. In the summer months, visitors can see two diesel and two

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s, 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 Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

traversed a short stretch of track. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the steam engines were returned to Leipzig for use there. New locomotives were purchased, and today there are two diesel and three steam engines in use.

Killesberg tower

Completed in 2001 the Killesberg Tower is a 40m high

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

, overlooking the park. It was designed by Jörg Schlaich, using

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

technology.Killesberg Tower
Structurae. Retrieved 2009-11-11.

Other features

From the 1950s until the 1980s there was a chair lift for visitors to enjoy views of the fairgrounds and parklands. The twenty-metre high Bismarck tower stands one kilometre south-west of the exhibition halls. It was built on the Gaehkopf, the highest point in northern Stuttgart, giving good views of Stuttgart itself and in all directions. It was one of many towers built to commemorate

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

. The building of over 410 Bismarck towers worldwide was planned, and 238 were actually built. The building of the tower was begun in 1902 by the students at the technical university in Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Bismarck tower was opened on 16 July 1904. In 2004, for its 100th anniversary, it was comprehensively renovated.

Surroundings

* Near the Bismarck tower is the

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

house, the house of the first German Federal President, which has been converted into a museum. * An open-air swimming pool borders the fairground buildings to the north. * To the southwest lies the Weissenhof Settlement of 1927, a protected monument, exhibiting "the dwelling" as initiated by the German work federation. * The American scholar and writer Richard J. Powers lives in the area.

References

External links

Stuttgart.deDie Parkeisenbahn von 1939

Killesberg TowerLichterfest-Stuttgart
{{Coord, 48, 48, 26, N, 9, 10, 19, E, region:DE-BW_type:landmark, display=title Urban public parks Parks in Germany Geography of Stuttgart Tourist attractions in Stuttgart Protected areas of Baden-Württemberg