Spa Gardens - Island of Roses
Beautiful site - romantic walk along the river nahe
There is hardly any other place in the city where you can experience the river so intensely and get as close to the Nahe as on the so-called Rose Island. On an area modeled as a gentle hilly landscape, terraces allow you to linger by the river and watch ducks, geese, herons, and cormorants go about their business. Promenades, a large fountain, an arbor, a playground, and sculptures create a varied park oasis. It connects the spa area with the Salinental valley. With its cheerful, cozy atmosphere, Roseninsel is one of the best places to end the day, especially in the evening hours when the setting sun shines on it.
The “Rose Island” took on its current appearance around 1900. A side arm of the Nahe river (today's Priegerpromenade) was filled in and a new park was created. In the spring of 1905, rose breeders from all over Germany came to the Nahe and planted lush rose gardens with up to 200 varieties. This flower show has given the park its name ever since.
However, the Rose Island owes its current appearance to flood protection measures. Like the entire spa area, it had been repeatedly flooded by the Nahe River. The Rose Island plays a prominent role in the major protection program that was implemented between 1998 and 2003 following devastating disasters in 1993 and 1995. Without realizing it, walkers stroll on a structure designed to protect them from the floods of the Nahe. Terraces replace walls, the pergola is actually a dike, and the hilly landscaping and a solidly built viewing platform are all part of the flood defense system. Form and function, beauty and utility come together in perfect symbiosis here.
Between the shady Priegerpromenade, rose beds, seating areas on the bank, the fountain, and the pergola, visitors can enjoy the view of the Oranienwald forest on the other side of the Nahe. The sculpture of the Durstgruppe, a small graduation tower, and the so-called Milchhäuschen are scattered throughout the park landscape like land art objects. A stream winds its way through a reed biotope.
From a triangular pulpit, Hugo Cauer's bronze fountain figure of “Reich Chancellor Bismarck,” which was moved here from the city center, gazes rather sternly at a lovely park landscape that blooms profusely in spring. Visitors experience the flat dike as a cherry orchard planted with “Tokyo cherries” (Prunus yedoensis). The symmetrically arranged trees blend harmoniously into the tranquil floodplain landscape.
