After much back and forth due to the Park’s protected status, the decision has now been made to restore the area’s 1947 look. An undertaking that will require thorough planning and a significant amount of work.
Historian Marc Schoellen and garden architect Emmanuel D’Hennezel researched the Park’s 500-year history for four months before working out a concept. A scientific study was also carried out to provide a basis for all further planning.
The heart of the Park will be restored in a first phase, which is scheduled to last until September. This includes a restoring of the fountain and the hedge ornaments in front of the central pavilion.
The concept seeks to remove some of the woodland area that has developed over the years as the trees are considered too tall and mostly in bad condition. Instead, more hedges are to be planted, explained Schoellen in conversation with RTL. He further underlined that a central point of the effort is to turn the Park into a new biotope.
Whether or not the local mini-golf is considered historic enough to make the final cut remains unclear at this point.
The record-breaking floods from two years ago was not the first time the area was completely under water, and it will certainly not be the last time.
Nevertheless, no flood prevention measures have been included in the current plans. According to Elisabeth Koltz from the National Institute for Architectural Heritage (INPA), discussions with other affected administrations would first have to be held.
Carole Hartmann, the new DP Mayor of Echternach, stated that all disagreements with the municipality are a matter of the past. They are now looking to collaborate in the future so that people can enjoy the Park once more.
The restoration project is expected to last five years. No specific budget has been fixed for the undertaking.
