Orangerie Park

The story of Orangerie Park began in the 18th century, though its precise origins remain a subject of romantic debate among historians. While some attribute its early layout to Louis XIV's famed gardener André Le Nôtre, local military engineer Antoine du Chaffat drew up early plans for the land in 1735. The turning point came during the French Revolution, when republican forces confiscated 140 orange trees from aristocrats at the Château de Bouxwiller. To house these prized citrus trees, Strasbourg municipal architect Pierre-Valentin Boudhors constructed the elegant Joséphine Pavilion in 1804, named in honour of Empress Joséphine Bonaparte. The park underwent a dramatic transformation in 1895 during the German annexation era, when Strasbourg hosted the major Industrial and Craft Exhibition of Alsace Lorraine. Landscape designers expanded the grounds to 26 hectares, excavating a scenic artificial lake and building a romantic cascading waterfall. To add charm to the exhibition, an authentic 17th century timber-framed house named the Buerehiesel was dismantled in Molsheim, transported into the park, and painstakingly reassembled piece by piece. This grand expansion successfully merged French classicism with German romantic park architecture, securing its status as the green heart of the city. Over the following century, the park evolved alongside Strasbourg's rise as a European capital. After a disastrous fire destroyed the Joséphine Pavilion in 1968, the city rebuilt the historic monument to its original glory. The park also became famous as the sanctuary that saved the white stork, the beloved symbol of Alsace, from near extinction in the region during the 1970s. Today, three historic orange trees still survive in the greenhouses, preserving a living link to the park's revolutionary past while visitors enjoy rowing across the lake or dining under ancient platanus trees.