Green area Ochsenzwinger, Görlitz Redesign upper terrace

Since the beginning of the 14th century, the city of Görlitz was surrounded by a stately fortification, a double ring of walls with bastions and gates, which were secured by fortified towers. A remnant of this defensive wall has remained standing in Görlitz on the Neisse River.
According to plans of the meritorious Görlitz garden architect Henry Kraft, the charming garden complex in the Zwinger between the Nikolaiturm and St. Peter's Church was created in 1953 and 1954 and in 1962 about 80 meters upstream a second, the Ochsenzwinger.

The Nikolaizwinger was renovated from 1995 onwards, dispensing with the reconstruction of the grounds designed by Henry Kraft and giving the narrow terrain a new look by incorporating existing valuable copses. The complex is divided into several spaces that include a perennial garden, a rampart garden and a fountain terrace.

Oxen's kennel is entered through a gateway and is surprised by a fountain terrace recreated in baroque design. Four elaborate flowerbeds with ornaments of cut edelgamander and boxwood are framed by six fountain basins in which small fountains bubble. At the end of the fountain terrace, a staircase leads up to the upper terrace. There, the pergola, overgrown with blue-oak, frames a courtyard space whose other decorative elements are a fountain, a perennial bed and potted plants. The design of this part of the complex was honoured with a certificate by the Association of German Landscape Architects in 2001. The part of the Ochsenzwinger complex to the south of the strictly formal fountain terrace is landscaped, characterised by copses, shrubbery and lawns.

AppreciationGerman Landscape Architecture Award 2001

Jury verdict: In one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, public open space is now also becoming a topic of urban renewal. Now that the redevelopment of the inner-city buildings is almost complete, the city is turning its attention to the open space.

The public space is to be given the same quality as the redeveloped buildings. The plaza honored here is likely to make the downtown attractive again as a place to live. The stylistic devices of a Mediterranean garden used are sensibly chosen on this south-east exposed slope.

It sets an example of the importance of open spaces for urban repair.