Theresienstein Park

One of the oldest English-style landscape parks in Germany, on the hill above the old town

Above the city to the north-east, the Theresienstein is an unusually fine English-style landscape park that has grown over two centuries from a single citizens' association. Inside its forty hectares you will find the botanical garden, a small zoo, a maze, two ponds, a memorial chapel, and a quiet hilltop restaurant.

The viewing platform on the eastern flank looks east into Saxony — on a clear day, into Vogtland and beyond. The park is open year-round; the botanical garden has restricted hours in winter. It is twenty minutes' walk from the city centre, or a short bus ride.

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A story
The park began in 1816 as a citizens' beautification project — one of the very first in Germany to be founded as an explicitly public, non-aristocratic enterprise. In 2003 it was named the most beautiful park in Germany by the German Garden Society, beating considerably grander competition from Munich and Hanover.

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