Gönneranlage Baden-Baden
Some gifts are timeless. Over 11,000 rose bushes of poetic varieties such as Charisma, Roseromantic and Rhapsody in Blue bloom anew every year in the Gönneranlage – a rose garden created at the beginning of the 20th century as a token of love. Anyone who steps through the wrought-iron gate beneath the stone stags is transported into a world of colours, scents and stories. Set amongst artfully trimmed hedges, romantic sculptures and the Josefinenbrunnen fountain, this listed garden invites visitors to linger, dream and take a moment to reflect.
Visitor information at a glance
Every day from 9.00 am at the latest until dusk.
Due to maintenance requirements or special events, the garden may be closed, either partially or in its entirety, even during the stated opening hours.
The entry is free.
Right on Lichtentaler Allee and easily accessible by public transport. Address: Ludwig-Wilhelm-Straße, 76530 Baden-Baden.
Parts of the Gönneranlage Rose Garden are only partially accessible due to the listed staircases.
- Please be considerate of one another and behave in such a way that other visitors are not disturbed or put at risk.
- You must comply with the instructions of the supervisory staff.
- Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted.
- Please do not enter the Gönneranlage on any kind of vehicle, bicycle, inline skates or skateboard.
- Please take care of our plants and do not take any plants or parts of plants away or damage them.
- Please leave the seating, tables and parasols in their designated areas.
- Playing loud music, holding parties, picnics, drinking sessions and private celebrations, as well as bringing in your own furniture or barbecue equipment, is not permitted.
- Any commercial events or activities, including trading, advertising, club events or leafleting, are prohibited without the express permission of the Parks Department.
- A special permit from the Parks Department must be obtained for commercial photography.
There will be no further guided tours or events at the Gönneranlage this year.
The guided tours and events for 2027 will be announced in spring 2027.
Baden-Baden has been an official ‘City of Roses’ within the German Rose Society (Deutsche Rosengesellschaft e.V.) since 1972. The German Rose Society brings together towns and villages where the rose holds special significance, such as Nöggenschwiel in the Black Forest and Assinghausen in the Sauerland, or the ‘Rose Towns’ of Zweibrücken, Eltville, Dortmund, Sangerhausen and Forst in Lusatia. Baden-Baden is proud to have held the title of ‘City of Roses in the German Rose Society’ for over 50 years.
The stars of the Gönneranlage
With over 11,000 rose bushes in around 300 varieties, the Gönneranlage is one of the most beautiful rose gardens in Europe. Yet some of them really stand out – whether for their fragrance, their colour, their history or simply their name.
Here we present a selection of our most special roses:
Scented roses – A stroll for the senses
Anyone visiting the Gönneranlage in summer is immersed in a veritable paradise of scents. Thousands of roses exude their beguiling, often surprisingly complex fragrance – sometimes sweet and rich, sometimes fresh and lemony, sometimes spicy and sensual. Our scented roses are among the garden’s hidden gems. They invite you to let go of the stresses of everyday life, take a deep breath and savour the moment.
💡A fragrance tip for your visit: The scent is particularly noticeable in the morning and in the early evening – ideal for a peaceful stroll through the grounds.
The history of the Gönneranlage
Laid out in 1909, the 1.6-hectare Gönneranlage is one of Baden-Baden’s most beautiful historic gardens and a masterpiece of garden design of European significance.
The hedge garden, featuring architectural elements, is named after Albert Gönner, the former Lord Mayor of Baden-Baden. It was designed by Max Laeuger (1864–1952), an architect, landscape artist and ceramist born in Lörrach, who is also credited with creating the ‘Paradies’ water feature on the slopes of the Annaberg in Baden-Baden. His first design for the Gönneranlage (1907) met with resistance from local residents and was not realised. The 1908 plan placed the monumental Josefinenbrunnen, created by the Munich sculptor Joseph Flossmann, at the centre. The fountain is flanked by two stone figures personifying the bathing cure and the drinking cure. The fountain is named after Josefine Sielcken, the wife of coffee wholesaler Hermann Sielcken, who had donated the fountain complex to the town. The bridge over the Oos also bears her name. Laeuger, a contemporary of the Art Nouveau movement, drew inspiration for the Gönneranlage’s formal design – which was extraordinary for its time – from the strict order of French Baroque gardens. Whilst pre-war architectural journals sang the praises of Laeuger’s ‘artistic style’, many residents of Baden-Baden felt that the geometry of the Gönneranlage stood in jarring contrast to the sweeping, open character of the adjacent Lichtentaler Allee.
When the almost forgotten spa and resort town of Baden-Baden was revived in 1950, plans were on the table to transform the Gönneranlage into a ‘perfectly ordinary’ park with winding paths. It is to the credit of the head gardener, Walter Rieger (1906–82), that he saved the neo-Baroque hedge garden: He transformed it into a rose garden. In 1952, the first Baden-Baden New Rose Varieties Competition took place in the Gönneranlage. Ever since then, Baden-Baden has accorded the rose a place of honour in the gardening calendar. As a ‘city of roses’, Baden-Baden enjoys an international reputation and maintains links with other towns in Europe and overseas that organise new rose varieties competitions. From 1952 onwards, new rose varieties were judged on a nursery site on the Beutig. Since 1981, the New Rose Varieties Competition has been held in the New Rose Varieties Garden on the Beutig, which was created specifically for this purpose.
In total, the Gönneranlage features around 11,000 rose specimens during the rose-blooming season.
