With a total area of 70 hectares, the Südpark is Düsseldorf’s biggest and most visited park. The popularity of the park is due not least to the 30-kilometre network of paths and the variety of things to do and see. The park comprises three very different sections: Volksgarten, “Vor dem Deich” and “In den Gärten”.
The Volksgarten, the oldest part of the Südpark, was completed in 1895/96 and formed the green oasis of the park in the 19th century. It was deliberately planned as an open, natural-looking park. Ponds with attractively curving shorelines, avenues, dense shrubbery, and winding paths offering sudden glimpses of groups of trees, are designed to give the illusion of a harmonious, almost ideal landscape.
On the south side, the area comprising 23 hectares of water and meadows is called “Vor dem Deich”. The starting point for the gardeners was a deep quarry pond fed by groundwater, which used to be a gravel pit. This, together with the neighbouring former industrial area, was transformed into a blooming paradise. Luscious vegetation thrives along the banks of the artificial ponds and chain of islands. The floodwater dike, which was built in 1573 for the Stoffeln cemetery and rediscovered by the planners of the Südpark, provides a good overview of this biotope. The dike is a welcome vantage point in the almost completely flat park and is crowned with a panorama restaurant.
