Rheingärtchen in Düsseldorf
The Rheingärtchen is situated in the district of Pempelfort, and with its 5000 square metres is one of the smallest listed parks in Düsseldorf. To this day, all important elements of the park have hardly changed.
The park’s main entrance, flanked by Japanese cherry trees, and the rectangular lawns with long herbaceous borders, culminate in an oval water basin, in the middle of which is a sculpture of the “Water Carrier” by the sculptor Bernhard Sopher. He was a member of the circle of artists known as “Junges Rheinland”, at the centre of which was the legendary patroness and gallery owner Johanna Ey (1864–1947).
Südlich des mittleren Gartenteils schließt sich ein kleinteilig gestaltetes Blumengärtchen an. Der offenste und längste Gartenraum des Rheingärtchens ist seine hoch über dem Rhein gelegene Aussichtsterrasse. Nördlich dieser Rheinterrasse schließt sich der Rheinpark an.
In 1925 the artist created the life-size “Water Carrier”, which depicts a naked Nubian carrying a vessel on her head. To the south of the middle of the garden is a small flower garden with seasonally changing flowers. The longest and most open part of the Rheingärtchen is the observation terrace high up above the Rhine. The Rheinpark begins to the north of the Rheinterrasse (Rhine Terrace).
The Rheingärtchen was created in 1927/28 based on designs by the then garden director Walter von Engelhardt and the city garden architect Johann Heinrich Küchler. Engelhardt wanted the Rheingärtchen to be a place of peace and relaxation with a design reminiscent of a comfortable private garden, and not a mere “front garden” for the representative, public buildings.
The park is part of the larger urban development complex of the Ehrenhof (Tonhalle, Museum Kunstpalast, NRW Forum Düsseldorf) and the Rheinterrasse. This ensemble of buildings in dark brick was built by the architect Wilhelm Kreis in 1926 for the exhibition GESOLEI (Exhibition about Health Care, Public Welfare and Physical Exercise). The Rheingärtchen was created shortly after the exhibition and is harmoniously integrated into this urban development ensemble.
Location
Pempelfort/ Joseph-Beuys-Ufer
40479 Düsseldorf
Total Area 5000 sqm
