Located about a mile North of the Marienplatz, Munich’s English Garden is the German version of New York’s Central Park. Plush with green pastures as far as you can see, the gardens are also home to Munich’s famous river surfers.
A park for the people, the English Gardens is a Munich gem and part of our popular bike tour.
The English Gardens, by the numbers:
- – English Gardens are spread over 920 acres, while NYC’s Central Park covers 843 acres. This comes out to be about 3 miles long and half a mile wide
- – There are nearly 40 miles worth of paths and walkways throughout the park
- – There are four major beer gardens in the park, including the famous Chinese Tower beer garden
- – The park boasts and incredible fresh water system that channels clean water from the Isar River throughout the park
- – At the latest count, the park has 69 bridges which go over the canals
The English Gardens dates back to 1789 when an Englishman named Benjamin Thompson suggested that the land, which was previously used as a private hunting ground, be used as a military garden. Later that year, the French Revolution broke out in July, which triggered a threat to similar peasant uprisings throughout Europe. Hoping to win over the people of Munich, Bavarian ruler Karl Theodor scrapped the plans of a military garden in favor of a public park. By 1792, the park was made available to the 40,000 residents of Munich.
Popular attractions in the gardens
- – The aforementioned Chinese Tower, which was rebuilt in 1952 after the original was destroyed by Allied bombing in the Summer of 1944
- – The Japanese teahouse, which was built in 1972 to celebrate the Munich Summer Olympics
- – The nudist meadow, which is a very real thing and mostly frequented by older males
- – The Monopteros, a Greek influenced temple sitting proudly on top of a hill overlooking the park
