Rieterpark The Rieterpark is a park in central

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

lived at Villa Wesendonck in Reiterpark from 1849 to 1858 where he worked on ''Tristan''.Millington (undated a)

History

In the 19th century it was bought by the German merchant Otto Wesendonck in an independent municipality near Zurich. Through the well-known architect Leonhard Zeugheer, he established the Villa Wesendonck and hired the gardener Theodor Froebel to design the extensive park and gardens. As a great patron of the arts, the Wesendoncks granted the house to

in 1849. Wagner had an affair there with Mathilde Wesendonck and finished in 1858 when he fled from Zurich.Stadt Zuerich
/ref> In 1871, the Wesendoncks eventually sold the mansion to the industrialist Rieter family along with the park grounds. After the death of Adolf Rieter Rotpletz in 1882, he left it to his son Fritz Rieter.

Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli (29 January 1842, Zürich – 27 July 1930, Zürich) was a Swiss architect and educator. Life and work Son of a distinguished legal scholar, Johann Caspar Bluntschli, A. F. "Fritz" Bluntschli commenced his architectura ...

was hired to develop part of the property. In 1912, the German Emperor William II stayed several days at the villa as a guest. In 1887 Fritz Rieter further extended the property, with farm buildings and an orangery created by Adolf Brunner. In 1945, after a referendum on the matter, the city of Zurich bought a 68,000 m2 large area of Rieterpark and Villa Wesendonck for 2.9 million francs from the Rieter family. Through a popular decision in 1949, the Villa Wesendonck was renovated and became a museum for non-European culture. Baron Eduard von der Heydt of the City of Zurich, donated and led to the establishment of the

Rietberg Museum The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the largest art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the large ...

in 1952. This was extended in 2007. The park has a notable pond and fountain and is used for classical concerts and theater. On 26 December 1999 parts of the park were severely damaged by

Cyclone Lothar Cyclone Lothar is regarded as the worst European windstorm recorded during the 20th century. Crossing France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany between 25 December and 27 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar's average winds reached up to 115 ...

References

External links

Stadt Zuerich website
{{coord, 47.3579, 8.5305, type:landmark_region:CH, display=title Parks in Zurich

History

See also

References

External links