The Palmengarten is a park in
Leipzig-Lindenau. It covers a surface of 22.5
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s (55.6
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).
Location
The ''Palmengarten'' is situated two kilometres west of downtown Leipzig. It is bordered by Jahnallee to the north, Richard Wagner Hain to the east,
Karl Heine street to the south, and
Kleine Luppe
Kleine Luppe is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a tributary of the Nahle near Leutzsch.
See also
*List of rivers of Saxony
*Bodies of water in Leipzig
References
Rivers of Saxony
Rivers of Germany
{{Saxony-river-stub ...
as well as Lützner street to the west. The Kuhburger river formed the western border of the Palmengarten before its backfilling in 1920.
History

The park grounds on the western bank of Elster
Pleiße
The Pleiße () is a river of Saxony and Thuringia, Germany. It flows from south to north into the White Elster in Leipzig. Originally, its natural length was ; however, south of Leipzig, it has been straightened, which shortened it to around .
Th ...
n Aue were originally part of the
Leipzig Riverside Forest
Leipzig Riverside Forest (German: ''Leipziger Auenwald'') is one of the largest lowland Riparian forests in Central Europe, lying mostly within the city limits of Leipzig city in Germany. The nature reserve is partially covered with hardwood fo ...
. Later, in 1893, during the 50th anniversary of Leipzig Gardeners Association's (''Leipziger Gärtner-Verein'') horticultural exhibition, a competition for the design of a Palmengarten inspired by the
Frankfurt Palmengarten was announced. The winner of the competition was Eduard May, a garden engineer from Frankfurt. Otto Moßdort, a gardener from Lindenau who had already designed the grounds for the horticultural exhibition and took second place in the competition, was then commissioned to execute the winning design. A
corporation
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
was established in 1896 in order to realise the project. The corporation leased the main site from the city and bought the southeast-based Ritterwerder (later known as
Klingerhain).
The Palmengarten was opened on 29 April 1899 with a ceremony led by mayor Otto Georgi. As "Leipzig's most distinguished recreation centre", it was reserved only for the "upper-class circles". The assembly rooms designed by the architects Schmidt and Johlige were eponymous with the park and the main tourist attraction. They are located in the northeastern part of the park. The ''Palmenhaus'', located south of the assembly rooms, covers an interior surface of 1.280 m² with palm trees and a variety of tropical flora. A pond with a surface area of 11.050 m² is located southeast of the old assembly rooms. A bridge connects the island in the northern part of the lake to the park's main path. A cast-iron pavilion built in 1897 is located on the eastern bank of the lake. During the Saxon-Thuringian industry and trade exhibition, the pavilion was located near the König Albert Park.
In 1921 the grounds were taken over by the city of Leipzig. Due to financial reasons, the Palmengarten was downscaled north of Elster in 1936; the wall, previously located on Plagwitzer street, was demolished, and a ticket booth was built behind Klingerhain bridge, making Klingerhain easily accessible. Since the Gutenberg Reich exhibition was to take place in the park grounds in 1940, the assembly rooms and the Palmhaus were demolished on 10 January 1939. Due to the start of the
Second World War
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 realisation of the exhibition was hindered.
In 1955, the Palmengarten, König Albert park,
Johannapark, and Scheibenholzpark were merged into
Clara-Zetkin-Park. In April 2011, the park was officially once again renamed ''Palmengarten''.
The Palmengarten is home to many dendrologically valuable and special trees, which for the most part originate from the tree nursery of the botanical garden, which was shut down in 1960.
In 2008, a revue theatre "Am Palmengarten" was opened; the theatre can seat up to 150 people. It was reconstructed from a petrol station dating back to 1944 as part of the protection of monuments.
Leipzig Palmengarten.JPG, In the Palmengarten (2008)
Leipzig Palmengarten Brücke.JPG, The Elster bridge in Palmengarten (2008)
Theater-palmengarten.jpg, Revue theatre
"Am Palmengarten"
Miscellaneous
The "Schule am Palmengarten" (School at the Palmengarten, formerly:
Max-Klinger-School, address:
Karl-Heine-Strasse
Karl-Heine-Strasse is a radial road in the west of Leipzig marking the boundary between the current localities of Leipzig-Plagwitz (to the south) and Leipzig-Lindenau (Leipzig), Lindenau (to the north).
long, it is named after the industrialist ...
22b) and a building complex "Palmengarten-Palais" with the
Capa House are named after the Palmengarten.
Both are on the edge of the Palmengarten.
See also
*
Architecture of Leipzig#Richard Wagner Hain
Bibliography
in German
* Hans-Joachim Hädicke: ''Von der Viehweide zum Landschaftsgarten. Die Geschichte des Palmengartens begann mit der Internationalen Jubiläumsgartenbauausstellung 1893.'' Leipziger Blätter 37 (2000), p. 40–43.
* Horst Riedel, Thomas Nabert, ed.: ''Stadtlexikon Leipzig von A bis Z.'' (1st ed.). Pro Leipzig: Leipzig. 2005.
References
External links
{{coord, 51.33531, 12.34542, region:DE_type:landmark, display=title
Parks in Leipzig
Culture in Leipzig
Greenhouses in Germany