Fischhofpark Tirschenreuth

The Fischhofpark in Tirschenreuth: Revival of a unique cultural landscape

Historical illustrations show Tirschenreuth as a town completely surrounded by fish ponds. Only the two elevated hilltops - the old town and the tithe farm "Fischhof" - rise as islands from the huge fish ponds. To this day, fish farming has shaped the landscape and the self-image of the region. In 1808, however, the two largest ponds were drained in the course of secularisation. Since then, the 100-metre-long stone arch bridge, built in 1750 by Philippo Muttone, stood apart on the green meadow.
In the context of the small garden show "Nature in Tirschenreuth", it was possible - at least in the area around the listed Fischhofbrücke - to reconstruct the historical situation by building two ponds. They now form the starting point for a new park landscape, which in a deliberately restrained manner, formulates the transition from the inner city into the charming Upper Palatinate cultural landscape.
But the landscaping was also accompanied by a comprehensive, urban reorganization of the neighboring, fallow area of the Schelsbrauerei. Today, an ensemble of hotel, restaurant and lakeside square form the attractive bridgehead from the city centre to the new park. The urban development consolidation finally initiated a series of further investments and thus led to a sustainable valorization and revitalization of the entire, long neglected, eastern edge of the city.

Old town hilltop, valley space and monastery island: making topography legible again

The design for Fischhofpark is based on the idea of making the "buried" natural and urban boundaries - old town hilltop, valley space and monastery island - tangible again. This is reflected in the clear structure of the park: city gardens: rounding off the eastern edge of the old town and connections with the city centre.
The city gardens define the transition from the city to the park. Intensive uses are located here, such as the playground, the waterfront promenade, the perennial garden with city pergola, and the lakefront plaza. Generous path axes link the park with the city and structure the gardens. Like a window, the Platz am See opens up new perspectives from the dense city centre to the new Fischhofpark. Two thematically connected structures give the square a structural frame and lend it an inner-city scale. The connection between Bahnhofstraße and Lehnerstraße, which is important in terms of urban development, finds a terminus here and is continued via a new bridge to the Fischhof.
A new staircase connects the Marktplatz with the Platz am See. The Lehnerstraße received a new appreciation by a new paving of Flossenbürger granite. The newly designed outdoor facilities around the fishing museum "Haus am Teich" form another link between the old town and the city park.


Landscape park: Preserving tradition - the "fish boxes"

In the transition to the adjacent cultural landscape, the park design deliberately takes a back seat. The valley spaces of the landscape park are kept open to the slope edges that trace the course of the historic lake shores. A circular path leads visitors around the two new ponds, turning the Upper Palatinate cultural landscape into a showpiece. Here the striking lookout pavilions "fish boxes" are arranged. Fish boxes - usually built as simple wooden troughs - are used in the fishing industry for temporary storage of fish.
The design of the pavilions picks up on the motif of the original fish boxes and houses along the mill race. As a kind of "landscape window", they direct the visitor's gaze to special attractions in the landscape and at the same time mark - as artefacts - points of view themselves.


Fischhofinsel: the centre

The "Klosterinsel" (monastery island) rises above the park. The shape of the former island is emphasized by a garden ribbon and thus becomes legible again. In keeping with its cultural and historical significance, the ensemble Fischhof and Fischhofbrücke forms the dramaturgical highlight of the new lakeside park. The herb garden in the inner courtyard was reconstructed.


"Places": Meeting places for residents of the city

At the lake square, a generous staircase of seating steps invites visitors to stay directly on the water. The sunken garden corresponds as a green counterpart to the stone
place on the lake on the other side of the shore. From the paths arriving here, a square center develops, which is particularly emphasized by slightly sinking. A "sheltered" sunken garden planted with perennials and grasses is created. A space-defining 30-meter-long urban pergola shields the public urban garden from the adjacent, heterogeneous, private house gardens. From here, a charming panorama opens up over Fischhof and the historic stone arch bridge.
A highlight of Fischhof Park is the water playground "Fischers Fritz". Pictorial motifs of the fishing industry have been transferred to play facilities. The playground equipment is artistically designed unique pieces. The skate park is tailored to the needs of skaters as well as BMX riders. In a participation procedure the draft for the approx. 1000 square meters large plant was developed together with skaters and Bikern.


Granite and wood: A clear form language converted with traditional and timeless building materials

Due to the timber resources in the Upper Palatinate forest as well as the numerous granite hills of the northern Upper Palatinate, granite and wood are the determining materials of the region. As high-quality and timeless materials, they determine the design of the lake park.

AppreciationGerman Landscape Architecture Award 2015

Jury verdict: The Fischhofpark, which was created with the small state horticultural show "Nature in Tirschenreuth" in 2013, contributes to the revival of a unique cultural landscape and creates a connection between the history of the place and the contemporary need for local recreation. The basic idea was to give expression to the local fishing industry with the creation of a larger pond, to give the place a tangible space by the water and, not least, to give the Fischhof Bridge, which has been standing on dry land for more than 200 years, a meaning again.

In doing so, the new green space was connected to the place in an exemplary manner with hiking trails, the "Fischers Fritz" playground and numerous interventions for experiencing nature. The jury praised the detailed quality of the park, at the same time the scenographic quality of the viewing pavilions "fish boxes" inserted into the circular path. As a kind of "landscape window", they direct the visitor's gaze to scenes in the landscape, which thus become an attraction, just like the pavilions themselves.