Large park facilities

The Killesberg, as Stuttgart residents usually call the Höhenpark, is one of the most popular destinations in Stuttgart with its lake terraces, magnificent flowerbeds, a large playground, animal enclosures and many events. The Höhenpark is open all year round and throughout the year.

An overview of the size and diversity of the park is provided by the Killesbergbahn, which rattles along the two-kilometer stretch of the grounds between March/April and October. More information can be found on the  “Bähnle” website (opens in a new tab).

The Höhenpark Killesberg offers fun and games for children with numerous attractions such as animal meadows, a 3,000-square-meter playground, a  children’s theater (opens in a new tab) and a  historical fair (opens in a new tab). During the day and in good weather, the Killesberg tower is freely accessible. There are 174 steps to climb to the top platform, which offers a panoramic view of the Swabian Alb and the Swabian Forest. Don’t worry: the fact that the tower sways slightly is entirely intentional and is what makes the ingenious, multi-award-winning construction so appealing.

Thanks to the hard-working employees of the garden, cemetery and forestry department, magnificent flowerbeds shine in a wide variety of colors almost all year round. The whole park has different areas with seasonal highlights: The primrose valley, the lake terraces, the summer flower meadows, the erika slope and the valley of roses impress visitors as much as the numerous trees.

The Höhencafé invites you to linger, and in summer pop, rock, jazz and classical concerts invite you to the  Killesberg open-air stage (opens in a new tab). The annual Festival of Lights in July is also very popular. Tens of thousands then move into the park, spread out their blankets and enjoy the fireworks and the atmosphere.

More information about the park can be found in the flyer:

The 64-hectare Rosenstein Park, which borders the Lower Palace Garden, is considered the largest English landscape park in southwestern Germany. The former royal crown estate belongs to the state of Baden-Württemberg.  Wilhelma (opens in a new tab) is responsible for the maintenance of the green areas.

The park, modeled on nature with meadows and trees, was created between 1824 and 1829 under King Wilhelm I of Württemberg. Construction of Rosenstein Castle at the southern end of the grounds began in 1825. The castle was destroyed during the Second World War and then rebuilt.

Today it houses the State Museum of Natural History with its zoological-botanical collection. The Rosenstein Park also houses the Museum am Löwentor (Museum at the Lion’s Gate), where finds from the prehistory of southwestern Germany can be seen.

For the most part, the historic paths and tree locations have been preserved. The Rosenstein Park is a protected monument and is designated as a landscape conservation area and FFH area.

The former royal palace gardens were created in 1807/1809 under Frederick I. They extend from the New Palace in the city center to Bad Cannstatt, where the Rosenstein Park adjoins. The palace gardens, which cover more than 60 hectares, are divided into three parts: the Upper Palace Garden with Palace Square and Academy Garden, the Middle Palace Garden and the Lower Palace Garden.

The Upper and Middle Palace Gardens as well as the avenue of plane trees in the Lower Palace Garden are listed monuments; the avenue of plane trees, which is over a kilometer long, is also designated as a natural monument.

The Upper Palace Garden is home to the renowned Stuttgart State Theater with its Kleines Haus and Großes Haus, as well as the state parliament. The Lower Palace Garden merges into the Rosenstein Park. The Leuze and Berg mineral baths are located there.

Today’s palace gardens are characterized by historical relics such as old trees, groups of trees and avenues. The various garden shows also have a lasting impact on the image of the grounds. The Upper and Middle Palace Gardens, for example, are rather architecturally strictly structured and intensively used, while the Lower Palace Garden is more extensively landscaped. A wide network of paths runs through the palace garden complex with its old trees, wide lawns and meadows, lakes, water features and playgrounds. They are a popular destination, especially on weekends.

The former private park was not acquired by the city of Stuttgart until 1956. For the Federal Garden Show in 1961, the park was designed as a public green space. A special highlight of the park is the teahouse with its viewing terrace, from which one has a beautiful view of the city center.

The spa park was created more than 200 years ago outside the old town around the drilled spring of mineral water. In the meantime, the city has wrapped itself around the park like a ring. Those who are looking for rest and recreation will find it here.

In the middle of the park, next to the mineral bath, is the Kursaal. Here the park divides into the Upper and Lower Spa Park. The upper spa park in English style offers many opportunities for walking, old large trees and spacious meadows invite you to linger. The best view can be enjoyed from the plateau above the Kursaal. Behind the Kursaal there is a beer garden and a miniature golf course.

The lower Kursaal facilities spread out on the plain in front of the Kursaal. The large meadow area offers a magnificent view of the freshly renovated Kursaal and the equestrian monument of Wilhelm I. Right next to it you will find two drinking fountains, the Lautenschlager and the Juno fountain, from which fresh mineral water bubbles.

Leipziger Platz is a park in the west of Stuttgart. It was completed with the development of the area around 1913 and was divided in two by Bismarckstraße until 1988. The lower, generally used square was built on after World War II with a Greek Orthodox church and a kindergarten made of “rubble stones”.

The part of the square that rises steeply up the slope was designed as a landscape park with individual small squares. Elements of the Art Nouveau style can still be seen today in the supports of a pergola made of natural stones.

In 1988, the disturbing part of Bismarckstraße was removed as part of a traffic calming measure. Thus the park could be designed coherently. In the course of this, the park was integrated and supplemented, for example, with playgrounds for children, who otherwise have hardly any opportunities to move freely in the greenery far and wide.

The listed park Villa Berg was created in the middle of the 19th century. The approximately 24-hectare landscape park was laid out by Friedrich Neuner on the hill of Höllsche Brühl by order of the Württemberg Crown Prince Karl. The Italian Renaissance-style Villa Berg, which gave the park its name, served as a summer residence for the crown prince and his wife. The building was rebuilt in a simplified way after its destruction in World War II.