Grüneburgpark

The Grüneburgpark is a park in the Westend district of Frankfurt, whose name derives from the "Green castle", which used to stand on the site from the 14 century. In 1789 the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann Metzler acquired the property and designed the park. In the following years the great thinkers of the day met here, among them Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Bettina von Arnim.

In 1837, the park was bought by the Rothschild family, who had a palais constructed in the manner of a French Loire castle. The English-style park itself was finished in 1877 by Heinrich Siesmayer.

In 1935, after the Nazi rise to power, Albert von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, who committed suicide in emigration five years later, had to "transfer to the municipality"(quote from a letter to mayor Krebs) what had been the home of his family. The "New Palais"was destroyed in an air raid in 1944.

After the Second World War, the park was expanded to 29 hectares. It has since been a popular place for recreation among the Frankfurters, especially in the summer months. The park's northwest corner is now a botanical garden, the Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. Another major botanical garden, the Palmengarten, is just across the street.