Fritz-Encke-Volkspark, Public park and architectural monument in Raderthal, Germany.
Fritz-Encke-Volkspark stretches between Brühler Straße and Bonner Straße, connecting Cologne's inner and outer green belt through landscaped paths and garden areas. The grounds feature seating areas, walking paths, and open lawns that invite visitors to spend time outdoors.
Fritz Encke, Cologne's garden director, laid out the park between 1922 and 1926 on the site of the former Friedenspulvermagazin, a powder magazine of the city's fortress ring, in Raderthal. He designed it as a Volkspark for broad sections of the population, with play areas, a circular temple enclosing a fountain, a nature theatre, a dance ring and a reading garden. In 1927 a radio transmitter was built in place of the planned café and operated until 1932; the planned Volkshaus was never realised. From 1949 to 1952 a garden city estate for the British occupation forces took large parts of the grounds, and the English school cut the nature theatre off from the rest of the park.
Fritz Encke included a Lesegarten (reading garden), a Reigenplatz (round-dance ground) and a Naturtheater among the park's facilities, since he counted cultural education among a Volkspark's tasks. The open-air theatre, its stage enclosed by tree walls and its tiered grass seating, was used by the Raderthaler Volksbühne until World War II and later as a British open-air cinema.
The park is accessible by Bus Lines 132 and 133, with stops near Leyboldstraße and Liblarer Straße. Visitors will find walking areas, seating spaces, and sections for sports and recreational activities.
The park's Naturtheater, a grass-tiered open-air stage enclosed by tree walls and hedge scenery, was used by the Raderthaler Volksbühne until World War II and later by British forces as an open-air cinema. Its acoustics allow performances without amplification; it was restored for the park's 80th anniversary in 2004.
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