Csepely-Knorr Luca: Barren Places to Public Spaces. A History of Publick Park Design in Budapest 1867-1914 (Budapest, 2016)
Public Park design in Budapest during the second half of the 19th Century
was created only a few years earlier, and its design thinking shows further resemblances too. The creation of Viktoriapark was due to the monument on Kreuzberg, the highest point in Berlin. The site was a popular place to visit for excursions, similar to Gellért Hill. In 1817-1818, Frederick William III of Prussia asked Friedrich Schinkel to design a monument to celebrate the victory against Napoleon during the wars of 1813-1815, one kilometre away from the southern entrance of the city. The 19 metre high, gothic revival monument was completed in 1821. As it was built on high ground, it was visible from various points throughout the city, dominating the surroundings as a major landmark.414 The reason for the creation of the park was the rebuilding of the monument. The designer of the new urban green space was Hermann Mächtig, who was appointed as Garden Director of the city of Berlin in 1877 after the death of Gustav Meyer.415 Due to the development of Berlin, the previously unbuilt areas were built on, and the views from the city were no longer connected to the monument. Therefore it was placed on an 8 metre high plinth, according to the ideas of William I in 1879. The area was landscaped to create a suitable and appropriate environment for the monument. The designs by Mächtig show the survival of Meyer s ideas: the use of formal and informal elements, the geometrical area around the monument to emphasise its importance, and the informal layout deriving from the style Hermann Mächtig, Plan of Viktoriapark, Berlin / Zeitschrift für Gartenbau und Gartenkunst, 1895. p. 308-309. / UB-TUB Buttes-Chaumont Park, Paris, view of the lake and the island / Adolphe Alphand, Les Promenades de Paris. Párizs, 1867-1873 / BME-OM1KK 137
