Mathildenhöhe

Mathildenhöhe is a park located at Darmstadt, in Germany.

Mathildenhöhe and the colony of artists

October 8th, 1899 in Darmstadt, the Large Duke Ernst Ludwig founded the first Colonie of artists which brought together architects, painters and sculptors; J.M Olbrich, P. Behrens, P. Huber, H. Christiansen, P. Bürck, L. Habich and R. Bosselt. The workshop of the Colony of artists was located inside the building Mathildenhöhe builds in 1900 for their first representation of May 15th, 1901, entitled “a document on Germanic art”. This studio of exposure was developed by Josef Maria Olbrich which arranged the residence of Ernst Ludwig and the villas surrounding in order to present the new works of art or “ Jugendstil ”. This artistic movement is illustrated in France by Hector Guimard which built in 1900 certain Parisian metro entrances on this architectural mode. The Art nouveau is an alliance between modernity and esthetics: it offers a harmony between architecture, furniture and decoration.

One second representation took place in 1904 to celebrate the construction of three houses as middle-class architectural models of the Art nouveau. Works of the Colony of artists are decorated by many ornaments worked in detail, thus giving them all their esthetic value. Last works of Olbrich and the matrimonial Tower , “ Hochzeitsturm ” high 48,5 meters located in the park of the “ Mathildenhöhe” , are presented to the public in 1908. This exposure was inaugurated for art free and applied, “ freie und angewandte Kunst ”.

In the park of the Mathildenhöhe a Russian vault is ( Die Russische Kapelle ) built in 1899 by the Russian architect Louis Benois for the Tsar Nicolas II, married with the sister of the Large Duke Ernst Ludwig named Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt. The ornaments of the basin in front of the vault were carried out by Albin Müller, member of the Colony of artists, for the last exposure of 1914. The decoration of the basin consists of mosaics of various colors chatoyantes, in harmony with gildings of the vault. But the beginning of the First World War marks the end of the Art nouveau. The fourth and last exposure inside the Mathildenhöhe took place in 1914. Today, the amateurs of game of bowls also come to benefit from the park from the Mathildenhöhe to take part in tournaments. The natural framework of the park and the beauty of the works of art can also be appreciated since the terrace of the Coffee of the Mathildenhöhe . In fifteen years, the artistic movement of the Art nouveau gave to the town of Darmstadt its own cultural identity which attracts each year of the thousands of visitors come from the whole world. The work of the Colony of artists brings an artistic charm to the city of the Science which combines esthetic and technological advance.

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