Whispers of Bremen’s past echo through the trees here at Wätjens Park. It is a historic landscape park in northern Bremen. For years, it was hidden between industrial areas and a busy highway. But the city of Bremen and the support association are taking care of it again since 2005.
Wätjens Park wasn’t always a public space. The Bremer merchant and shipowner family Wätjen created it. In 1830, Diedrich Heinrich Wätjen bought land for a summer residence. He had a country house built. From 1830, he had the park laid out in the style of an English landscape garden. Isaak Altmann planned it.
His son Christian Heinrich Wätjen expanded the estate. From 1858 to 1864, the original house became a castle-like villa in English Tudor style. Heinrich Müller, an architect from Bremen, designed it. Today, the park is known as Wätjens Park. Christian Wätjen used many foreign shrubs for the park. His son Diedrich Heinrich ordered them from America. He built the Schweizerhaus for him and the Villa Magdalena for his daughter. Sadly, both buildings were demolished.
The park reached its greatest size in 1890 with about 50 hectares. At the end of the 19th century, a small memorial temple was built in the park. It honored Diedrich Heinrich Wätjen and his son Christian Heinrich Wätjen. Today, a replica of Christian Heinrich Wätjen’s sculpture can be seen there.
The Wätjen family sold the estate in 1916. It had become a military hospital at the beginning of World War I. The park was divided between the neighboring industrial companies Bremer Vulkan and Bremer Wollkämmerei.
After Bremer Vulkan went bankrupt in 1997, the city of Bremen bought the parkland. The castle and other residential buildings remained privately owned.
Wätjens Park offers many activities. Visitors of all ages can walk, jog, and cycle. They can relax on a blanket or one of the many benches in the park. In the summer months, the green area attracts visitors with various events. Music, dance, and theater provide entertainment. Lectures and guided tours through the historic park take place all year round.
The Förderverein Wätjens Park e. V. is committed to restoring and preserving the old park landscape. They want to restore the park as authentically as possible. The memorial temple was restored in 2001. In 2009, a replica of the bust of Christian Heinrich Wätjen was added.
Wätjens Park connects nature and tradition. It exists since 1830. The park fell into a deep sleep at the beginning of the First World War. Since the turn of the millennium, the city of Bremen has owned Wätjens Park. Now it is gradually restoring the landscape park. They preserve and develop it for future generations. Wätjens Park stands as a testament to Bremen’s history. It is a place where nature and heritage intertwine.