English Garden

The English Garden (Englischer Garten) is one of the largest urban parks in the world, stretching from Munich's city center to the northeastern city limits. Created in 1789 by Sir Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford), the garden was designed in the style of an English country park, hence its name. Covering an area of 375 hectares (927 acres), it is larger than New York's Central Park or London's Hyde Park. The garden features vast open spaces, wooded areas, 78 kilometers of paths, and the Eisbach, a small river that runs through the park. One of the English Garden's most unusual attractions is the Eisbach wave, a standing wave on the river where surfers can be seen riding year-round, even in winter. Other notable features include the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm), a 25-meter-high wooden structure modeled after the Great Pagoda in London's Kew Gardens. It is surrounded by Munich's second-largest beer garden, which can accommodate up to 7,000 visitors. The park also contains the Monopteros, a Greek-style temple built on a hillock offering beautiful views of the city; the Japanese Teahouse, which hosts authentic tea ceremonies; and the Kleinhesseloher See, a lake where visitors can rent paddleboats. The southern section of the park is particularly popular with locals and tourists for sunbathing, picnicking, jogging, and even nude sunbathing in designated areas (Schönfeldwiese), a practice that has been permitted since the 1960s. The English Garden serves as Munich's most important recreational area and represents a significant aspect of the city's culture and lifestyle.