Villette Park, with its impressive grove of trees, was artfully landscaped in the English style in 1865. For lovers of well-maintained garden architecture, a visit here is a must—ideally as part of a guided tour led by an expert.
Villette Park, with its impressive grove of trees, was artfully landscaped in the English style in 1865. For lovers of well-maintained garden architecture, a visit here is a must—ideally as part of a guided tour led by an expert.
Ranger? The first thing that comes to mind is an Australian game warden battling angry crocodiles and rutting kangaroos in the Outback, driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle along dusty gravel roads. But when you meet Urs Camenzind, that image has to be thrown out the window. Because this 57-year-old forester and gardener isn’t out in the wilderness with a bush knife; instead, he’s strolling through Villette Park with binoculars on behalf of the municipality of Cham. On the sleeve of his beige uniform: the badge of the Swiss Rangers professional organization.
The Villette, a natural oasis spanning approximately 46,000 square meters, is well known. And many have likely lingered over coffee and cake at the restaurant of the same name. But it’s only a guided tour with Ranger Camenzind that opens a visitor’s eyes and reveals that the park is a jewel of exquisite beauty. It bears the hallmark of the renowned landscape architect Theodor Froebel, who designed the grounds here in the English garden style in 1865 on behalf of a wealthy Zurich banker. Unlike French gardens, this one is not characterized by strictly laid-out beds and precisely trimmed hedges, but rather reflects a landscape that strives for a certain naturalness. Another distinctive feature is the exotic tree species of diverse origins, intended to impress visitors. A park, in other words, with prestige.
Sequoias from China, Asian Japanese maples, Oriental plane trees, African cedars, American swamp cypresses, and the Caucasian wingnut tree can be found here, as well as Chilean araucarias, whose leaves twist around the branches like screws. The tulip tree also seems quite exotic for its time; in early summer, it is adorned with upright flowers ranging from sulfur yellow to yellow-green, almost as large as the palm of a hand. Dotted throughout the park are European and native trees and shrubs: horse chestnuts and holly, weeping willows, beeches, birches, poplars, elms, alders, ash trees, yews, and oaks.
Would you like to learn more? Sabine Windlin took a tour of Villette Park with Ranger Urs Camenzind for our destination magazine #inlovewithzug. Click the download link to read the full story.