In Addition

What else does the Park have to offer

Beside its highly varied range in the central areas of botany, animals, art, sport and health the Grugapark also has other attractions: buildings that are well worth seeing such as the listed Gruga Tower, the glass Orangerie halls and the Music Pavilion are multi-functional, architecturally exemplary structures for all sorts of events. The Roman House dates from the Middle Ages. The fairy tale Hundertwasserhaus has enriched the Park since 2005.

There are also extras for both leisure and education such as the Gruga Rail, the barbeque stands and the Geological Wall.

Main Entrance

Main Entrance Building

A glass pavilion greets visitors at the main entrance A glass pavilion greets visitors at the main entrance. The airy tented roof structure contains the ticket office and the Grugapark Shop. The pavilion gives a foretaste of the botanical peculiarities of the Grugapark: Chusan palms, aloes, Chinese cinnamon and money plants flourish here. Additional park beauties present themselves after a few more steps. Water rushes out in cascades from a five jet water fountain into a large pool in front of the Blumenhof.

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Gruga Tower

The Gruga Tower against an autumn backdrop The Gruga Tower is one the park’s landmarks and is the only monument still standing from the year of foundation. After a short climb visitors are offered a wonderful panoramic view. The architect Paul Poortten designed the radio and viewing tower in 1928 in the so-called “Neues Bauen” style.

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Music Pavilion

The music pavilion The music pavilion, with its delicate dome that appears to be levitating, offers seats protected against the wind and the rain for about 1,000 visitors. Framed by the glorious colours of nature in summer it is the ideal venue for concerts and other events.

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Orangerie and Info-Centre

The Colour Terraces lead to the Orangerie Halls with their floods of light – masterpieces of glass dome architecture. Under the left roof dome of the Orangerie the glazed restaurant with a view of the Kranichwiese offers pleasant dining opportunities, including outside during the warm seasons. The three pavilions form a harmonious backdrop for art exhibitions, cultural events and plant shows. The Grugapark Info Centre is in the right hand hall. Visitors can obtain information here about the variety of events in the park. The Info Centre can be reached on +49 (0)201 88 83 106 during park opening hours.

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Barbeque stands

You can enjoy a relaxed barbeque together with friends and family during your free time. The Grugapark offers a total of six highly coveted barbeque stands for pleasant barbeque afternoons and evenings. Beautifully located on the edge of the Kranichwiese and two playgrounds you can let yourself go and really relax here. Instead of seeing your neighbours you will see at most a squirrel now and then around the corner. Make reservations direct in the Orangerie Info Centre or by telephone on +49 (0)201 88 83 106. Barbeque stand prices ...

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Hundertwasser House

A surprising, almost fairy tale sight awaits the visitor from the bridge between the Orangerie and the Botanical Garden: a golden onion tower crowns the so-called Hundertwasserhaus, which was opened in the Grugapark in 2005. The draft for this imaginative, colourful house was the last work of the Austrian painter, drawer and graphic artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000).

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The Hundertwasser House of the McDonald's Kinderhilfe Stiftung (McDonald’s Help for Children Foundation) is the temporary home for the families of severely ill children who are treated in the nearby university clinic.

The Hundertwasser House offers public tours once a week. A binding, personal registration is requested: Tel.: +49 (0)201 439990

Roman House

A gem of architectural history is hidden in the Grugapark: a little way off the main path what is now called, “The Roman House” slept like Sleeping Beauty until 1965. The expansion work for the Federal Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau) brought to light a Roman residential tower from the 12th century, part of a farmhouse which had survived for over 800 years. The tower was very probably used by retainers of the Lords of Rüttenscheid to secure the Werden area and is among the rarest secular buildings from the early middle ages in this region.

Now it is open as the heart of the Show Garden as an exhibition and seminar location for the public.

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Gruga Rail

3,5 km rail network right across the park

Anyone looking to change their perspective or who is not so sure on their feet can enjoy the beauty of the park close enough to touch from the Gruga Rail. The trains “Wachsames Hähnchen” (Watchful Chicken), “Zornige Ameise” (Angry Ant), “Heimliche Liebe” (Secret Love), “Schwarze Lene” (Black Lene) and “Fleißiges Lieschen” (Busy Lieschen) make their leisurely way along the blooming attractions of the Botanical Garden. A trip as exciting as it is relaxing that has been a traditional and much loved item on the agenda for Grugapark visits since 1938.

The Gruga Rail operates in good weather during the summer season daily between 10 am and 6 pm.

Tickets for adults cost 3 Euros and for children and young people between 4 and 15, 1 Euro. You can obtain up to date information about daily operations in the Orangerie Info Centre, Tel. +49 (0)201 / 88 83 106 or directly from the operator INTAMIN, Tel.: +49 (0)162 / 63 63 660 or +49 (0)201 / 79 28 28.

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Geological Wall

The Geological Wall rises on the banks of the Forest Pond. A 15 meter wide cross section shows a geological profile of the Essen region. The coal bearing layers, the so-called seams, can be clearly recognised, which have heavily influenced the Ruhr region both above and below the ground.

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