Folkparken, Norrköping, Public park in Norrköping, Sweden.
Folkparken is a park on Dragsgärdet by Norra promenaden in central Norrköping, designed by gardener Gustaf Lind in the English romantic landscape style. It has winding paths, large lawns, a pavilion, an 80-metre rock garden built 1918–1922 from Motala ström blasting stone, and a bronze sculpture, "Vändande lodjur", by Arvid Köppel.
On 17 September 1893, city council chairman John Philipson proposed a public park on the Dragsgärdet meadows for residents who could not afford trips to the countryside, offering to pay for its creation if the city covered annual upkeep. Work began at once, and the park was inaugurated on 9 June 1895 with patriotic songs by the music corps of the Second Life Grenadier Regiment. That autumn the council named it Folkparken.
Since 1941, Walpurgis Night has been celebrated in Folkparken with a bonfire, music, singing, a spring speech and fireworks. The park's name was decided by the city council in autumn 1895, shortly after the park opened on 9 June 1895.
Visitors can find restroom facilities near the playground building and street kitchen, with additional temporary facilities available from May through September. The park is easy to navigate with accessible pathways throughout.
The bronze sculpture 'Vändande lodjur' stands by the 80-metre rock garden built between 1918 and 1922 from blasted stone left over from work on the Motala ström downstream of Järnbron. Its sculptor was Arvid Köppel, and a memorial plaque to John Philipson is nearby.
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