Raffelbergpark, Mülheim

Raffelbergpark is a park on the site of the former Raffelberg saltwater spa in Mülheim an der Ruhr. It is located on the city border with Duisburg.

The park was created in 1909 by garden architect Walter Baron von Engelhardt with stepped gardens and terraces for the purpose of overlooking the Ruhrauen landscape. Quote from the opening: "For the sick to heal, for the healthy to enjoy". The park housed a children's brine bath, a bathhouse and a spa. The salt water was pumped from the Alstaden mine in Oberhausen about 2.5 km to Mülheim. The eastern part of the park was symmetrically designed as a French Baroque garden, the western part in the style of English park landscapes. A waterhole that had existed until then was transformed into a small lake.

In 1973, the Alstaden mine had to close and with it the brine dried up. The artificial replacement brine was not initially well received. The natural brine delivered from the Concordia mine in 1979 gave a small upswing in visitor numbers, but in 1992 there was the final end.

Even before that, a citizens' initiative for the preservation of the park at Solbad Raffelberg had been founded, which took a vehement stand against the conversion of the Solbad into a modern adventure pool. This would have meant considerable interventions in the park landscape.

In 1996 the spa house was converted into a theater, and in 1998 the park was restored. The former spa and children's home now houses three small businesses, a restaurant and the Theater an der Ruhr. The entrance area on Ruhrorter Straße was built in 2003 by the Mülheim sculptor Jochen Leyendecker as an interpretation of the former pavilion; at that time it served as the entrance to the Solbad, today it is a lookout point over the park and the Ruhrauen.

Today, Raffelbergpark is not only a place for recreation and edification, it is also used by the theater - especially in the summer months - as an outdoor backdrop or by music events as an open-air stage. Sports groups, clubs, kindergartens and schools also make intensive use of the park's facilities.