Szczytnicki Park is one of the largest parks in Wrocław, covering an area of approximately 100 hectares. It is situated east of the Old Oder. It is located in the former village of Szczytniki, which was incorporated into the city of Wrocław in 1868. Currently, the park has a landscape character and great dendrological value (about 400 species of plants).
In the 16th century, the village of Szczytniki located in this place was divided into Nowe and Stare Szczytniki. The forest in Stare Szczytniki was popular among the inhabitants of Wrocław already in the middle of the 18th century. In 1783, Fryderyk Ludwik Hohenlohe, who was the commander of the Wrocław garrison, founded one of the first English-style parks on the whole European continent here.
During the siege of the city in 1806, the park was completely devastated by Napoleon’s soldiers. Fortunately, however, it was rebuilt after the war.
Since 1833, the park has been the site of horse races that were organized until 1907. The horse racing track was located in the place where the Centennial Hall is now located. Interestingly, the shape of the pergola faithfully reflects the shape of the former racing track.
There is also a Japanese Garden in Szczytnicki Park, which was established in 1909–1912 in connection with the Centennial Exhibition of 1913 held in the Centennial Hall. The garden was designed by the Japanese gardener Mankichi Arai. Unfortunately, most of the details giving the garden the Japanese style were removed after the exhibition. Only in 1994 with the cooperation of the Japanese embassy, prof. Ikuya Nishikawa and Nagoya gardeners began restoring the garden to its Japanese character. After this reconstruction, it was unfortunately destroyed during the millennium flood in 1997. The Japanese named the garden Hakkoen, ie the white-red garden.
In the Szczytnicki Park, you can see the wooden church of Saint John of Nepomuk from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was moved to Wrocław only in 1913. There is a monolithic stone cross next to the church, which was moved in the 1970s from Muchobór Wielki.
Interestingly, it was very loud about the intimate wooden building at the end of the 1950s. It turned out that for two years it was a thieves’ hollow, hidden in it, stolen from the National Museum in Wrocław, paintings by, among others, Matejko, Kossak and Gierymski.
The church is open to visitors on Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and it can be visited with a guide at 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Historical buildings in the Szczytnicki Park in Wroclaw
Spire in Wrocław - Szczytnicki Park
The Spire is a steel monument built in 1948 according to a design by S. Hempel as the main feature of the Recovered Territories Exhibition. It is composed of a 70 m high tapered lower part supported on three supports (rib structure) and a 30 m high upper part (tubular structure). It has been one of the architectural symbols of Wrocław for half a century. The facility is located near the Szczytnicki Park in Wrocław
Memorial stone of Wilhelm Ludwig Eduard von Hohenlohe (does not exist)
The memorial stone of Wilhelm Ludwig Eduard von Hohenlohe (does not exist) was the park tombstone of a two-month-old child, who died in 1790, which was erected by the owners of the Ducal Garden. It stood until 1945 in the area of Kopernika and Dickstein Streets. According to a local legend, he commemorated the accidental death of 10-year-old William at the hand of his father during a hunt.
King Frederick William II's column in Sczytnicki Park
King Frederick William II’s Column is the first wooden monument erected in the Ducal Garden between 1786 and 1789, modeled on the ancient Trajan’s Column, with a sculpture of the ruler and a viewing terrace at the top. After a fire in 1806, it was rebuilt from brick. In the 60s of the 19th century it was accentuated with a surrounding park path. The column is the only preserved element of the architectural and sculptural design of the Ducal Garden.
Ludwik Fintelmann's memorial stone in the Szczytnicki Park
The Ludwik Fintelmann Memorial Stone is an erratic boulder with an inscription that was removed after 1945. It was placed in 1879 under the Fintelmann Oak.
Memorial stone of Emperor Wilhelm I (does not exist) in Szczytnicki Park
The memorial stone of Emperor William I (does not exist) was a stone with an inscription commemorating the Emperor’s stay at the Wrocław horse races in 1882. It was placed in 1883 near the horse racing track, in the park from al. Mickiewicz.
Statue of Diana in Szczytnicki Park (not preserved)
The statue of Diana (not preserved) was a sculpture by E. Seger erected in 1898 at the intersection of Mickiewicza and Wróblewskiego Streets on an oval square surrounded by alpine vegetation and boulders imitating a mountain landscape. The work showed the figure of a hunting goddess with hunting dogs. It was removed after 1945.
The Centennial Stone in the Szczytnicki Park
The Centennial Stone is one of the six commemorative columns erected on the occasion of the turn of the century in 1900/1901 on the border of the city at that time. One of the three surviving after 1945, Granite, in the form of a column with a quadrilateral top and with bas-relief elements of the coat of arms of Wrocław, resembles medieval pillar chapels.
Monument to Frederick von Schiller in the Szczytnicki Park
Monument to Frederick von Schiller, German poet and dramatist, erected in 1995. It is a reconstructed monument made on the centenary of Schiller’s death – May 9, 1905 The design of the monument was prepared by Felix Henry. The granite monument and the marble bust of the poet (a copy of the Weimar monument by Heinrich von Dannecker) were completely destroyed in 1945. The base of the reconstructed conical plinth of the bust was supplemented with a plaque with the inscription: “All People will be brothers – Alla Manschen werden Brüder”.
Monument to Joseph von Eichendorff
The statue of Joseph von Eichendorff was erected in 1911. The bronze figure of the poet was removed after 1945. The pedestal with two reliefs has survived to this day.
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