Luisenpark, Park, botanical garden, and zoo in Mannheim, Germany
Luisenpark is a large public park in Mannheim, Germany, divided into a lower historic garden section and an upper area with greenhouses, a lake, animal enclosures, and playgrounds. It is registered as a botanical garden, a zoo, and a protected cultural monument all at once.
The park was laid out between 1892 and 1903 following plans by garden designers from Frankfurt, and it was funded through a bequest left by a scientist named Carl Fox. It was named after Princess Luise of Prussia, who was married to the Prince Regent of Baden.
The Chinese garden, called Duojingyuan ("Garden of Many Views"), covers 5,000 m² and was created with Mannheim's twin city Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province, the Klaus Tschira Foundation in Heidelberg and the Ostasieninstitut in Ludwigshafen. A donation of 1.77 million Deutsche Mark funded the garden and its tea house. Look for the name Duojingyuan on the entrance.
The park is open year-round and works well for a short walk or a full day out with family. Cafes and food stands inside the grounds mean there is no need to bring your own food for a longer stay.
The boats on the park's lake, called Kutzerweiher, are not rowed but pulled along a looped course by ropes that run under the water. The main greenhouse replaced one destroyed in the Second World War and now houses aquariums with both saltwater and freshwater fish alongside its plant displays.
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