Sondershausen Castle Park

Sondershausen Castle is surrounded by a landscape park, covering an area of about 30 hectares. It was created in the 19th century from the former pleasure garden on the castle hill and a redesign in the floodplain of the Wipper River. An avenue connects the various park areas, which are situated at different heights.

The historical starting point of the park complex was a kitchen garden located in front of the west wing of the castle, which was converted into a pleasure garden around 1700. Numerous buildings, such as the octagonal house originally erected as a carousel building, the mail track later replaced by an indoor riding arena, and the destroyed court theater, belonged to it.
The orangery was used, among other things, to cultivate pineapples as a specialty. Around 1800, interest shifted to the Lohplatz, located to the north of the Castle Hill, in the vicinity of which amusement facilities such as a shooting range were established. This area was included in the expansion of the Castle Park in the area of the floodplain of the Wipper River north of the Castle from 1836 onwards.

Between the Castle Hill and the river, an elongated landscape park was created under the court gardener Tobias Ekart and the garden artist Eduard Petzold. Paths and woody plantings were laid out, and two of the existing ponds were converted into park lakes. The Park was heavily damaged during World War II and is currently being restored based on Ekart's and Petzold's work.