Margarethenhöhe, a garden suburb for Essen

Around 1900 plans are drawn up for a Grüngurtel (Green Belt) around Essen to stop the rapid (sub)urbanisation and give the inhabitants access to clean air and space for recreation. On the south side of the city an extension of the existing Stadtwald (City Wood) was planned for this. The plan would, however, never be realised as a direct result of an intervention by the Krupp family.

In 1905 many of the Marches surrounding Essen were incorporated (eingemeindet) into the city. This as a logical move as most of the development of Essen lay outside of the territory in the surrounding towns and villages. To celebrate the wedding of her daughter Bertha, Margarethe Krupp founded the Margarethe-Krupp-Stiftung für Wohnungsfürsorge (Foundation for Housing Provision) with a capital of 1 million marks and a large landholding in Rüttenscheid. Some 50 hectare is set aside for a park and on the remaining 115 hectare 3092 homes in 935 buildings were built between 1909 and 1938.

The first houses on the plateau (the literal translation of Höhe) were occupied in 1910. To create access to the site a viaduct was built across the Borbecker Mühlenbachtal, a narrow valley occupied by a small stream (the eponymous Borbeck Mill Brook) and a railway. All houses in this garden suburb were designed by Georg Metzendorf a member of the Deutschen Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen). Together with Gartenstadt Hellerau (1909) and Gartenstadt Rüppurr (1911), Gartenstadt Margarethenhöhe (1910) forms the three initial housing projects of the Garden City Movement in Germany. All three were heavily influenced by Das Englische Haus, a book in three parts written by Hermann Muthesius, instigator of the Werkbund and later Bauhaus. In his book Muthesius combines English vernacular architecture as promoted by Raymond Unwin with the German Heimatstil into the so-called Landhausarchitectur.

The buildings were constructed in several building campaigns. The street plan and layout of the streets are clearly Unwinesque in the treatment of public space. It also shows the more formal approach to central public spaces that is so commonly seen in German and Dutch examples of garden cities and villages.

The layout of this garden city shows the change in ideas on urban design. The first building phase -A- (1909-1928) is characterised by Unwinesque design principles combines with several pivotal formal ensembles (the axis of symmetry shown in violet).This core-section of the garden city is bound by a wide avenue with tram. Beyond the 1930s-sections are located. Most buildings in were brick-built -B- whilst others are mostly rendered blocks -C-. These sections are dominated by low apartment blocks and terraces on a layout reminiscent of New Objectivity. On the side some individual detached properties -D- were built. Thus Margarethenhöhe has a clear inner and outer section on either side of the Sommerburgstrasse.

The Margerethenhöhe was named after its founder Margarethe Krupp and occupies a special place within the Krupp housingprovision. It is the first attempt at providing a complete community separate from the workplace aimed at providing good and affordable homes for employees of various classes. In that it differs from Altenhof I that was aimed at the infirm and widowed. Influenced by the Garden City Movement it was a logical progression from Altenhof. The architecture of Metzendorf continues on this vein of Heimatstil adapted by Muthesius into the Landhausstil. The houses were luxuriously appointed for the age with running water, indoor toilets, mains gas and a small garden. It was therefore forbidden to keep geese or chickens unlike in the mining colonies with their large gardens! A large school was built, as was a church. The charming market square lies at the heart of the garden city (although more a village in feel). It has a lovely fountain, market arcades on either side and the guesthouse (now a hotel) and the former Krupp'sche Konsumanstalt (now a supermarket ) on the either end.

The 1930s section is almost devoid of amenities. It only houses the new police station (P) on the avenue. On the avenue a tram (T) runs to its end halt Margarethenhöhe (MH). This tram connects the garden city with central Essen via a bridge (TB). The railway that once ran below it has recently been converted to a cycle highway. From the bridge one enters Margarethenhöhe through a formal gate (1). The street than leads to the Kleiner Markt (2) with the Gasthaus (3) and the Konsum (4). The first police station (5) was built nearby. The Gustav Adolf Haus (6) is home to an evangelical church. The Robert-Schmohl-Platz (7) is completely enclosed by terraced housing. Its axis is continued in the ensemble around the Hauxplatz (8), once with 4 pavilions on either corner. The axis end in the Schule an der Waldlehne (9). The catholic church of the Holy Family (10) was built to one side. The Giebelplatz (11) and Waldlehneplatz (12) are small formal ensembles around a crossroads. Beyond the garden city the Waldpark (WP) was created out of a wooded valley. The remains of the Sonnenburg (a castle) can still be found here. On the other side the natural valley of Nachtigallental (NT) separates the garden city from the large cemetery of Fullerum. On the Kesselbach the Halbachhammer (Hh) was reerected from another location in Wiedenau in 1935. It is a medieval hammering mill. On the edge of the wooded valley of the nightingales an old farm Hülsmannshof (HH) has been turned into a restaurant as the garden city was built. The farm Zur Altenau (ZA) was demolished and replaced with a modern party centre.

Although partly destroyed during WW2 the garden city was rebuilt and was given heritage status in 1987. The buildings have been since renovated as a showcase of ensemble architecture and social housing provision. Between 1962 and 1980 the New Margerethenhöhe was built on land already acquired decades before by Bertha Krupp in memory of her mother. On these 16 hectare mainly apartment blocks and CIAM-style tower blocks were constructed.The housing of Margarethenhöhe is still owned by the Margarethe Krupp-Stiftung für Wohnungsfürsorge and rented out at affordable rates. Truly a legacy Margarethe can be proud of!

Window box 6: beautiful Bavarian Bells

Streptocarpus, a genus of afrotropical plants, are popular house plants. This member of the Gesneriaceae is native to the humid mountain forests of Africa and Madagascar. They make for interesting pot plants as the flowers seem to grow directly from the base of a large leaf.

The members of the subgenus Streptocarpella are very different as they have actual stems with flowering shoots sprouting from every node. These flowers are relatively small and come in a limited colour range of violet, purple, pink and white. Streptocarpella saxorum 'Concord Blue' is a popular plant for window boxes and hanging baskets. My grandmother grew them as Bavarian Bells.

Despite the name the cultivar Concord Blue has violet flowers. The plants prefer warm growing conditions with high air humidity, so in temperate zones they are only grown outside in summer. The perennial plants can be cut back and taken indoors for winter. Cuttings strike easily. As the leaves burn easily a position in (semi)shade is preferable!

Grugapark, horticultural showcase and popular park

The present Grugapark was preceded by a Botanical Garden that was built by some 500 unemployed men as a form of relief work in 1927. An existing quarry was landscaped with the aim of introducing the residents of the industrial Ruhr Area to botany and a greater understanding of nature. Instructional panels were included, as was a geological exhibit showing a cross section of the area around Essen.

In 1928 the site was selected to host the Grosse Ruhrländische Gartenbau-Ausstellung (GRUGA). This Horticultural Exhibition took place in 1929 and comprised the area adjacent to the botanical garden. This botanical garden was included in the Exhibition. Afterwards the park was reopened to the public as a People's Park (Volkspark). On part of the terrain a convention centre (Messe Essen) was created. in 1938 the Grugapark was the site of the Reichsgartenschau. After WW2 an indoor arena (Gruga Halle) and swimming pool (Gruga Bad) were built and the park was enlarged for the second GRUGA exhibition of 1952. The present 65 hectare park stretches across most of the hill between Margaretenhöhe and Rüttenscheid. In 1965 the site was re-landscaped for the Bundesgartenschau (BUGA) of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since the 1990s new exhibition gardens have been added.

As a former horticultural exhibition, the Grugapark hosts a number of small and medium size exhibition gardens. Some are relatively recent, others have been in situ since the 1960s.

The Swamp Cypress (Taxodium) will grow in standing water. A group of these deciduous conifers has been planted in a large pool (left). Dahlias are taking centre stage in the central flower arena. This Ronald McDonald House -unmistakably designed by Hundertwasser- stands at the edge of the park near the botanical garden and replaces a small deer park.

The glasshouses of the botanical garden of the University of Duisburg are still a major attraction within the Grugapark. Each glasshouse houses a different biome ranging from tropical forest (left) Australian cloud forest (middle) to American dessert (right).The complex is a working research facility that was completely revamped in 2010.

An essential ingredient of a BUGA garden -so it seems- is a narrow gage train, tram or monorail. The Grugapark is no exception, so a narrow gage train "Gruga Bahn" runs through the entire park on a loop. The track crosses the valley between the botanical garden and the exhibition park with a viaduct. The tracks can be seen on many locations cutting through the planting. The halts are simple platforms.

A view across the artificial lake from the waterfall culminates in the Gruga Tower at the other side of the Liegewiese. The Gruga Tower, a radio and viewing tower from 1928, was designed by architect Paul Poortten in the style of “Neues Bauen” and is an important landmark within the park. The flower arena with dahlias, asters and other flowers is situates halfway between the Gruga Tower and the artificial waterfall. The park is also the setting for many works of art.

Window box 5: the subtle touch of the gentle soul

I personally like bright colours and stark contrasts, but I also have a soft spot for subtlety. That doesn't mean I appreciate pastel colours, but rather inventive combinations of cooler colours like for instance blue, mauve, purple, violet and white. I don't know if there is any research regarding personality and the colour choice in planting up window boxes, but I associate subtle combination with gentler souls, who have no need for making an outward statement.

Pure white flowers combined make for subtle floral displays. On the rights white petunias gleam against an off-white rendered wall. On the left a window box is filled with Solanum jasminoides 'Album', a scandent bush making long trails. On another balcony (middle) Felicia in soft blue is combined with yellow Bidens and pots of pink pelargoniums.

The combination of white and purple is cool, but very distinguished. Here a window box filled with two colours of Verbena (left). The humble Aster also makes a nice pot plant. These mauve asters (middle) have been treated to reduce growth to make for compact plants. The Fuchsia comes in many shades, all variations of white, pink, salmon, purple-red and violet. Here a subdued variety (right) with blooms in a combination of white and deep purple.

Siedlung Altenhof I and II: Heimatstil versus vernacular architecture

The Invalidenkolonie around the Gussmannplatz still stands. It was designed in the so-called Heimatstil, a German contemporary of arts and crafts with similar goals of reintroducing skill into construction whilst referencing an eclectic mix of historic styles and techniques. The result is a deliberate picturesque effect as clearly visible here, in what is basically a large number of small terraced dwellings under one roof.

The housing for the infirm wraps around a central garden square with two statues, one of a furnace worker (shown here on the left) and a steel caster opposite. By using protruding sections within the block, often with a gable end or high hip end the illusion is created of this housing complex consisting of a number of separate buildings. Here the planking and carded  woodwork is clearly visible.

The block on the opposite side of the garden square is more symmetrical, but still owes its shape and treatment to barns and similar farm buildings. These low sloping dormers are typical of mountainous areas with heavy snowfall.

Altenhof II was started in 1907 and continues the spatial ideas found in Altenhof I that has all but disappeared now. The streetscape dominated by short terraces and semidetached family housing are basically picturesque and show little influence from Unwinesque urban design as advocated by Muthesius. The houses follow Das Englische Haus more closely with variation in outward appearance combined with reoccurring floor plans.

A typical streetscape in the first building phase. The Unwinesque termination of the sightline along the street with a high gable end is from the second building phase of the 1920s.The housing is placed equidistant along the curved street.

The use of roughcast (Grobputz in German) and colourful window shutters with contrasting field in the same light colour as the window frames were adapted from English examples. The covered entrances with a variable outline (squared left, arched right) also draw on those references.

In contrast to the Unwinesque approach, where long lines of sight along streets are avoided the streets of the first phase run more or less parallel along the slope with a slight curve. The street plan is very basic and practical.

The facades and outward appearance is very variable. All tricks are used to veil the limited number of actual housing types by the addition of Gabled dormers (left), bell gables over the entrances. The covered entrance is the same in both with a short wall creating an inner space beyond the arch. Roofline, floor plan windows and shutters are all very similar.

The most striking addition of 1927 is this cubist block of flats with off-white panted rendered walls and protruding stairwells indicating the entrances. The main building has a pitched roof, creating a contrast with the flat-roofed "entrance towers".

The thoroughly modern apartment buildings stands across from these two very large detached villa's. In fact these are semidetached houses disguised as a grander building. Still, the contrasting effect is remarkable.

The last building phase of the late 1930s was built in a time when the Stuttgarter Schule was the only officially supported style of building. As in Gartenstadt Rüppurr these simple vernacular buildings tie in well with the English inspired vernacular architecture of the preceding decades.

The buildings in the third phase have more prominent door frames and shutters with a single field. Also the windows are simple set in the rendered wall without any carvings on the window frame.

Unwinesque treatment of the corners is replicated in the last building phase of the 1930s, with a section of a terrace set back to open up a corner. The terrace further along the street is also set back to create  a separate street space, thus braking the perceived length of the street.