The Garden of Heavenly Peace - a Chinese garden in Frankfurt

 

The Garden of Heavenly Peace - a Chinese garden in Frankfurt

The Garden of Heavenly Peace is a park within a park. With an area of only 0.4 hectares it is small but well worth seeing. Created in 1985 it is part of the Bethmann Park on the edge of the city centre. An inscription on one of the buildings constructed in traditional Chinese style reads: "A peaceful place to rest - In silence one finds strength for new thinking". And that is exactly what the park offers. Thick walls shield the park so perfectly from the busy roads surrounding it that you hardly notice them.

It is supposed to represent the harmony of the world and illustrate this through a balanced relationship of the five elements of the world. Chinese experts built the garden in only five months and erected buildings in the style of the residential houses from the Chinese province of Anhui with characteristic carvings of the Huizhou style. Various wooden pavilions, a marble bridge, a jasper green pond, the typical zigzag bridge (jade belt bridge), a stone arch of honour and numerous Chinese plants create a unique place.  Even entering through the lion-guarded gate in the enclosing wall sets the mood for the garden, which was named in memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.  Its original name, Spring Flower Garden, is now virtually forgotten.

On the night of June 1st 2017, the central water pavilion fell victim to arson, which also destroyed other special wooden buildings in the city. In 2019, it was faithfully reconstructed by hand by Chinese craftsmen. 

The small Chinese-style park was visited twice during the Erasmus project. The Babenhausen pupils had already explored it on an excursion to the parks of Frankfurt - and this park left the deepest impression. It quickly became clear to the German students that if they were to host the project conference, they would bring their guests there.