With a big jubilee week from 28 October to 3 November, the Palmengarten is celebrating a very special anniversary: 150 years ago - in early summer 1869 to be precise - construction of the Palm House began here. The dream of a "crystal palace" with exotic plants in the middle of a botanical garden has now become reality.
"The Palm House, a pioneering construction made of iron and glass, designed according to a patent from the Paris World's Fair of 1867, henceforth housed exotic plants and became the meeting place of Frankfurt society," says Palmengarten Director Katja Heubach. "With a total area of around 1,600 square metres, the Palm House is still one of the largest of its kind in the whole of Europe - and has lost none of its appeal 150 years after its opening."
Until now, the Palm House has been primarily a visual experience. But the anniversary will be used to appeal to other senses as well. For example, a sound installation by sound artist Lasse-Marc Riek will be on display from Monday. Riek has put together "Sound Dialogues - Klangwald im Palmenhaus" (Sound Dialogues - Sound Forest in the Palm House) from 84 sound tracks combining the sounds of animals from different continents. Suddenly you can hear howler monkeys from Costa Rica, water striders from Ireland and even hippos can be made out in the carpet of sound. Combined with the acoustics of the house and the splashing of the waterfall, the result is a truly fascinating sound experience that can be heard daily from 9 a.m.
Fittingly for the anniversary, there is also a beautiful postcard exhibition. Fitting, therefore, since the postcard was also invented in 1869. A little later it became a picture postcard, which was also sent from the Palmengarten again and again with pleasure. For example with texts such as "I am here at the moment, enjoying a glass of beer". The exhibition tells the story(s) of the Palmengarten using picture postcards from three centuries. In addition, visitors will have the opportunity to write their own congratulations to the Palmengarten on reprints of historical postcards, or to reveal what they would like it to do for its great anniversary in 2021. The exhibition of historic postcards will be on display until December 31.
The highlight of the festive week is the weekend. The programme then includes a jazz concert on the Palm House terrace, guided tours and lectures, hands-on activities for young and old, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Society House (registration required by emailing palmengarten.kultur@stadt-frankfurt.de ) and insights into the working world of the Palm House gardeners.
The Jazz Concert on the Palmenhaus Terrace - a cooperation with the Jazz Initiative Frankfurt - will take place on Saturday, November 2, at 7 pm, admission from 6 pm. Tickets are available at 25 euros, concessions 20 euros, at the ticket office Siesmayerstraße.
On the occasion of the festival week, the Palmengarten extends its summer opening hours beyond October 31 and opens daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. up to and including November 3.
You can find all further info at: https://www.palmengarten.de
