English garden is one of the most beautiful and largest parks in the world, even bigger than the New York Central Park. The word English in this case depicts the gardening style used in the landscaping of the park, which was represented in England at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. The beautiful green area is designed for various activities, from long walks and biking tours to surfing on the waves in the park (waves are artificially created through a pumping mechanism from a stream flowing through the whole park).
When the ruler of Bavaria Maximilian Joseph III, the last of the Wittelsbach dynasty, passed away in 1777, who had no offspring, Archduke Karl Theodor succeeded to the throne. The new ruler preferred to spend time at his home in Mannheim on the Rhine than to live in Bavaria. He even tried to trade his unwanted inheritance in Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands. Although this attempt ended in failure, Theodore faced with a deep contempt of the Bavarian people. In order to try to compensate for his mistakes, Theodore decided to improve the city of Munich by demolishing the city walls and enabling the creation of a large English garden. This assignment was entrusted to Sir Benjamin Thomson. In 1789 the construction of the garden began. At first, Thomson’s soldiers used the gardens; however only a few years later the gardens were open to the public and everybody could make use of them.
The most important place in the park is the Chinese Tower, a 25-meter high building, which resembles a Buddhist temple. This temple should have represented a porcelain temple from the palace of the Chinese Emperor. The Munich Chinese tower has five floors but it has burnt to the ground during the bombing during the Second World War. However, the Munich City Society pledged to rebuild the tower, which actually happened in 1952. The reconstruction was made according to the original photographs and the drawings that were preserved in the city.
In close proximity to the tower, there are large beer gardens where one has a chance to taste all the Bavarian beers and enjoy the peace of the garden ‘away from it all’
Monopteros - a miniature temple in the Greek style made by Leo von Klenze. Built on the foundations that are 15 meters tall, the temple is actually made of the residual material used in the construction of the royal residence. It provides an incredible view onto the park and an attraction you are bound to see there.
In the central part of the park, there is the lake Kleinhesseloher and next to it is a brewery in which visitors can try the best Bavarian beer.
The Japanese teahouse was built in 1972 in honor of the Summer Olympics held in Munich. This house is built on a small island inside the English garden and it presents a gift from Sositsu Sen (a teahouse manager from Kyoto) to Bavaria. A traditional tea ceremony is held here from April to October every other weekend of the month: Saturday-Sunday at 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00.
If one is interested in visiting the Japanese teahouse, the address and the contact telephone are as follows:
Address: Königinstraße 4, 80539 Munich
Telephone: 089 224319
