Kurfürstliches Gärtnerhaus e.V.

The Kurfürstliche Gärtnerhaus in Bonn-Weststadt occupies a prominent position as a municipal art pavilion on the edge of a small park. It combines Baroque architecture with contemporary use and, together with the remains of the former tree nursery, is protected as an architectural monument.

The building stands at the corner of Wittelsbacherring and Beethovenplatz on the northeast side of the so-called Baumschulwäldchen. The plain, single-storey Baroque structure from the second half of the 18th century has a rectangular floor plan and a footprint of about 50 square metres. The façade facing the Wittelsbacher Ring features a gable with a semicircular window and is articulated by two pilasters; the hipped roof is covered with slate. On the former north side there is a relief plaque depicting the anointing of Christ’s feet by Mary Magdalene.

The site has a long history: around 1720 Elector Joseph Clemens of Bavaria established the tree nursery here, which then covered roughly seven Morgen. Elector Maximilian Franz of Austria used the grounds for shooting practice and social events and had a pleasure pavilion built, which the gardeners operated as a refreshment house. After the University of Bonn was founded in 1818, the park and the pavilion passed to the university, which leased the building; until the mid-20th century it was known as the “Milchhäuschen.” In 1908 the city took over the horticultural care; during the First and Second World Wars the house suffered heavy damage, stood empty at times, and was rebuilt in 1952 with state funds.

Since the mid-1950s the building has served, under cultural-administrative supervision, as an exhibition venue; since 1960 it has borne the name Kurfürstliches Gärtnerhaus. A flat annex of 36 square metres added in 1971 on the park side and a glazed entrance area link the old and the new building. Inside, niches were evened out with wooden fittings, providing approximately 70 square metres of unobstructed exhibition space. The operator is the sponsoring association for the Künstlerforum Bonn, Hochstadenring and the Kurfürstliches Gärtnerhaus; each year up to 17 three-week temporary exhibitions are held here.