Beckenhof, building in Zurich, Switzerland

Beckenhof is a historic estate in Zürich with buildings constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries arranged around a paved courtyard with a classical fountain. The complex includes three residential buildings, an economic building with garden pavilions, and an annex added in the 1930s, preserving about one-fifth of its original plot near the Limmat river.

The estate began as a farm in the 12th century and was transformed by baroque residential buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1740, Junker Hartmann Grebel and his wife created a representative mansion with designed gardens, which later became a gathering place for artists and intellectuals under writer David Hess in the early 1800s.

The name Beckenhof points to the estate's origin as a farm with water basins. In the first half of the 19th century, poet and chronicler David Hess made it a centre of intellectual life. The early-classical courtyard fountain, built around 1790 under the Hess family, stands directly in front of the park railing.

The estate is served by the Beckenhof stop, reachable by public transport. The buildings are rented as offices and not open to the public; the renovated garden is open to visitors. The park is being restored from 17 February 2025 to about the end of April 2026, so parts may be closed during that time.

The painter Varlin rented a studio at Beckenhof after returning from France and depicted the estate in an oil painting titled 'Mon atelier au Beckenhof'. The early Neoclassical courtyard fountain, built around 1790 during the Hess family's time, stands directly in front of the park railing.