Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park

Did the name “Fulwell Park” ever grace your ears? It once echoed through this very space, now known as Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park. Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park isn’t just a green haven. It is a testament to resilience, a stage for history, and a canvas painted with royal hues. The park’s story begins with Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden, who chose this idyllic spot in Umkirch as her summer residence. It then passed to her daughter, Princess Josephine, wife of Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern. It was Princess Josephine who, in 1887, declared the estate a “Stammgut,” a family seat, solidifying its importance to the Hohenzollern lineage. Years later, it would serve as the backdrop for a royal love story. In 1933, Prince Friedrich of Hohenzollern granted his sister, Auguste Viktoria, the former Queen of Portugal, permission to build a new schloss within the grounds. Queen Auguste Victoria, with a touch of nostalgia for her English estate, christened her new home “Fulwell Park.” Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park soon became a sanctuary for the exiled queen. The schloss, designed by Bonn architects Stumpf and Kleefisch, reflected the charm of an English country house. Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park was not immune to the tides of history. During World War II, the French occupied the main Hohenzollern schloss. General Pierre Péne, the governor of Baden, took up residence there, leaving Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm to reside in his sister’s smaller schloss within Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park. Imagine the hushed conversations, the anxieties, and the hopes that filled these very grounds during those turbulent times. Following Queen Auguste Victoria’s death in 1966, the park returned to the Hohenzollern family. It subsequently housed the University of Freiburg’s psychosomatic clinic before being acquired by an insurance broker. The park’s story takes a dramatic turn in 1993, when publisher Werner Semmler purchased the much-reduced estate. He meticulously repurchased surrounding lands, expanding the park to its current splendor. Six tranquil ponds, artfully arranged in the style of an English landscape garden, reflect the sky and the surrounding greenery. Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park is a place where history whispers through the leaves. The park holds echoes of royal footsteps and wartime anxieties, all woven into the tapestry of its existence. It has seen royal weddings, celebrated on television, and even served as a backdrop for a German TV series. This oasis, once a private retreat, has become a space for public enjoyment, offering concerts, guided tours, and a peaceful escape. The legacy of Queen Auguste Victoria lives on, not in a forgotten name, but in a vibrant, living park that bears her name, Queen-Auguste-Victoria-Park.