Vorgebirgspark
Rose garden with a long water-lily basin behind an old brick wall — Cologne's historic park designed by Fritz Encke (1910–1914).
The Vorgebirgspark in southern Cologne is renowned for its axially arranged specialty gardens tucked behind an old brick wall, including a rose garden with an elongated water-lily basin. The park spans the neighbourhoods of Zollstock, Raderberg and Raderthal.
At a Glance
- Type
- Public park
- Location
- Zollstock, Rodenkirchen district (Nauheimer Str. 15)
- Size
- 13.9 hectares
- Laid out
- 1910–1914, designed by Fritz Encke
- Opened
- 1 July 1914
- Protected
- Listed monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Facilities
- Specialty gardens, meadow, basketball court, skate park, children's playground
The rose garden of Vorgebirgspark once featured a 42-metre-long water lily basin painted turquoise – and according to the Kölner Tageblatt of 14 September 1911, even during construction the garden already held 'several hundred varieties of roses', arranged by colour and climbing iron arches.
Things to do here
- Stroll through the park and the rose garden
- Admire the roses climbing the iron arches
- Picnic and relax on the lawns
- Go for a jog or a leisurely walk
Area comparison
Area compared with other Cologne parks and green spaces.
Setting and Surroundings
The park forms part of the Southern Green Axis, which links the Volksgarten with the outer green belt and connects via further green corridors to the open landscapes between the Rhine and the Vorgebirge ridge as far as Bonn. To the west, the originally firm boundaries have softened into lawns and later-planted woodland, now legible only from the old tree stock. The southern and eastern edges along Kreuznacher and Neuenahrer Straße remain unchanged, where an old brick wall screens off the specialty gardens.
Layout and Gardens
Entering from Kreuznacher Straße, visitors first reach a square tree court planted with tall elms that serves as a transition to the rest of the park. To the west it opens onto a large inner lawn, originally conceived as a public recreation and play meadow. To the sides, three axially aligned specialty gardens are grouped together. A terraced garden on the north side features a sunken central lawn traversed by two paths, their intersection marked by a round stone-framed bed that once held a fountain.
Rose Garden
To the south, a rose garden adjoins the tree court. At its heart lies a 42-metre water-lily basin whose turquoise-painted floor provides a striking visual accent. The Kölner Tageblatt of 14 September 1911 recorded "several hundred varieties of roses" in the original beds, arranged by colour and partly trained over iron arches. On the street side, the garden is now bounded by a 40-metre white-painted arcade erected in the 1950s to replace an earlier pergola.
History and Heritage
The Vorgebirgspark is a listed historic monument. In the mid-1980s most of the grounds were renovated and replanted after plans to route a motorway through the site were abandoned.
Timeline
- 1910–1914Park laid out according to plans by garden architect Fritz Encke
- 1911Kölner Tageblatt reports on hundreds of rose varieties in the rose garden
- 1914-07-01Park opened to the public
- 1950erPergola replaced by white arched walkway; green strips narrowed by construction
- Mitte 1980erRenovation and replanting after planned motorway route was abandoned
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Nauheimer Str. 15
50969 Köln
Hours
So: 00:00–24:00
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27
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