Csepely-Knorr Luca: Barren Places to Public Spaces. A History of Publick Park Design in Budapest 1867-1914 (Budapest, 2016)
The Beginnings - The Urban Development of Pest-Buda and their Public Green Spaces Prior to the unification
Peter Joseph Lenné, Plan of Magdeburg public park in John Claudius Loudon's ‘An Encyclopaedia of Gardening’, 1835 / MMU Library (Keresztély) Usemann,19 Head Gardener of the capital in 1897. Shortly after the layout of the Western side of the castle hill, the landscaping of the Eastern hills began as well. The so-called Ellipse-promenade, that had been built on the initiative of Archduke Joseph“ was opened to the public in 1838. It was redesigned in the 1870s first by Vilmos Klenszky (Klensky), later by Miklós Ybl, and was built according to the plans by Károly Weber.21 The park was a popular place, especially after the introduction of concerts by military bands.22 Peter Joseph Lenné, Planting plan for Magdeburg public park in John Claudius Loudon's An Encyclopaedia of Gardening', 1835 / MMU Library The construction of the gardens around hill forts and castles was part of a Europe-wide tendency during the first decades of the 19th century, which aimed to use the defunct fortifications to create green spaces once their military importance had started to decline. One of the first results of this new idea was the first municipal public garden in Magdeburg in Germany, designed by the Royal Prussian Garden Director, Peter Joseph Lenné.23 The park was financed by the city of Magdeburg, and was built on municipal land between 1824 and 1836.24 Lenné published his essay 'Über die Einrichtung eines Volksgartens bei der Stadt Magdeburg’ and his plan ‘Verschönerungsplan von Klosterberge bei Magdeburg zu einem Volksgarten' in December 1824, in which he explained the main principles of creating the park. He put major emphasis on visually linking the park and the surrounding landscape with the main focal points (such as the River Elbe, the harbour, church steeples and the dome of the Magdeburger Dom). The central feature was a lookout terrace at the Southern end of the park, where he recommended the building of a ‘Volkssaal’ (Peoples Hall). Main tree lined avenues led up to this part of the park, to highlight its centrality. He stressed the important lookout points with other buildings, such as the community house’, the so called ‘Gesellschaftshaus’ and the ‘Temple’ designed by Schinkel. He aimed to create a set of so-called ‘Schutzhaus’ against bad weather. On the island created in the lake, Lenné planned to give space to the famous figures from the history of Magdeburg. The process of planting began in 1826 and was directed by Lenné himself.23 He recommended the plantation of species with various and peculiar colours and habits. This shows that the demand for diverse and exotic vegetation, which framed the appearance of many public parks later in the 19th century, had already appeared here, at the first half of the century.26 This park played a major role in the evolution of public parks in Britain because of this aspect. Not just the plan, but also the planting plan, was published in the influential publication about public parks by John Claudius Loudon, which will be analysed later in this book. 12
