Luisenstädtischer Kanal

Evergreen garden

The Evergreen Garden between Engelbecken and Adalbertstraße was the first section to be restored to Erwin Barth's historic garden layout with funding from the Berlin State Monuments Office and the Berlin-Mitte District Office. In the process, the old paths, walls and stairs were uncovered again, then renovated and the parapet of the canal walls renewed. Then as now, the repaired promenade path, equipped with numerous benches, emphasises the longitudinal axis of the Evergreen Garden. The planting was reinterpreted, deviating from the historical situation, by the landscape architecture office Horst Schumacher. In April 1993, the Evergreen Garden was ceremoniously opened under the name "Through Space and Time".

Rose Garden

The Rose Garden was restored in 1995 with funds from the Berlin State Monuments Office and the Berlin-Mitte District Office. The only surviving historic bridge, the Waldemar Bridge, forms the junction between the green corridor sections of Mitte and Kreuzberg. During the excavation work on the rose garden, the elongated fountain basin was found in addition to path edgings and pergola remains.
During the subsequent restoration of the garden based on the planning of the landscape architecture firm Horst Schumacher, the canal walls were restored and the lawn parterre was laid out with rose beds. Since June 1995, numerous benches in the pergolas covered with wild vines, climbing roses, climbing hydrangeas and clematis have once again invited visitors to linger. The "Indian Fountain" is now complete with replica bronze sculpture. The top is crowned by the figure of a goddess of wisdom, recreated in the mid-1990s by the artist Gerald Matzner on the basis of the historical model.

Forest Plant Garden

The forest plant garden was the third section to be restored in 2006. As early as the mid-1990s, the canal walls were uncovered; it was not until the end of 2004, with the help of donations to improve the open space situation in the Mitte district, that the desolate walls and stairways could be restored. From autumn 2005 onwards, the garden was restored and redesigned: the central path was laid out with seating areas and the planting of typical Marketean shrubs - pine, hornbeam, birch, poplar - as well as perennials and roses in accordance with Hans Martin's historical planting plan.
In the run-up to the design measures, the Mitte district, together with the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments, held several public events, which led to a compromise between the preservation of the garden as a historical monument and current usage requirements. In the process, part of the spontaneous vegetation was preserved under nature conservation aspects.

Flowering Shrub Garden

The Blossom Shrub Garden, located between Melchior Street and Köpenicker Street, was redesigned by the Mitte District Office on the basis of intensive citizen participation, using funds from the Urban Development Monument Protection Program (Senate Department for Urban Development, Dept. IV C). In contrast to the other sections, excavation down to the original level of the 1930s has been dispensed with. The play sculptures on the large, slightly lowered lawn are reminiscent of the barges on the former canal.

Angel Basin

With funds and at the instigation of the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Sites, the Senate Building Administration and the Mitte District Office, it was possible to uncover the Angel Pool in 1999/2000 and to restore the surrounding promenades - partial repairs to the walls and steps had already been carried out in 1994. Due to the rising groundwater level, the basin continuously filled up to the ideal water level. From autumn 2005 onwards, the basin and surrounding walls were renovated with funds from the urban development monument protection programme, the riverside path with arcades and benches was restored, canal walls were planted with climbing plants, embankments were planted with iris and hedges, lawns were laid out, the water basin was deepened and re-equipped with 16 fountains.
The reconstruction of the "Water Castle" as a building with gastronomic use was completed in 2011. The design of the structure and the entire north bank was based on the historic design, taking into account the existing substance and today's usage requirements.

Michaelkirchplatz

Starting in 2011, the open spaces on the Michaelkirchplatz will be redesigned with funds from the urban development preservation program. The restoration of the square area according to Lenné's model includes the creation of new paths, lawns and planted areas as well as the planting of new trees according to the historical concept, the maintenance of the existing rows of linden trees and the re-equipping of the square with benches and wastebaskets. The beautification and redesign of the Michaelkirchplatz as the "green heart" of the Luisenstadt will make the link between the square and the Engelbecken clear again and also highlight the importance of the square and the church as a focal point in the north-south axis of the Luisenstädtischer Kanal green corridor.

Oranienplatz

For parts of the former canal (Oranienplatz and promenades between Waldemarbrücke and Ritter-/Reichenberger Straße) in the area of the Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain district, an urban planning-garden monument conservation report (2005) was prepared by the TOPOS office on behalf of the Berlin State Monuments Office. On the basis of the report, the district office redeveloped the northern half of Oranienplatz in 2006/2007. The southern half of the square was completely implemented according to the concept.

back to overview to the time shades

1. Evergreen garden
2. Rose Garden
3. Forest Plant Garden
4. Flowering Shrub Garden
5. Angel Basin
6. Michaelkirchplatz
7. Oranienplatz