Petrihaus and Brentanopark

Beautiful park at the Rödelheim weir with historical buildings such as the Petrihaus and ancient trees.

The Petrihaus, located in Rödelheim directly on the Nidda, was built around 1720. Master baker Johannes Petri sold it around 100 years later to Georg Brentano, who rebuilt the half-timbered house in the romantic Swiss style. A small museum is dedicated to the Frankfurt merchant in the Petrihaus. Brentano was the brother of the poet siblings Clemens Brentano and Bettina von Arnim. Their mother was friends with Goethe. So it is not surprising that a literary circle was established in the idyllic house, in which, in addition to Clemens Brentano, the Brothers Grimm, Adele Schopenhauer and Marianne von Willmer took part. Goethe also visited here. Rödelheim residents like to tell each other that the ginkgo tree, estimated to have been planted around 1750 to the left of the Petrihaus (seen from the park), inspired him to write his poem "Ginkgo biloba" from the West-Eastern Divan. The 66-year-old dedicated the lines about the split leaf of the ginkgo to his late love, Marianne von Willemer. Today, the tree is one of the oldest representatives of its kind in Germany - some even claim it is the oldest. During his lifetime, Brentano designed a 14-hectare landscape garden around his house, on the design of which Goethe is said to have advised him. After Georg Brentano's death, his descendants were unable to keep the land and Petrihaus and sold it to the city of Frankfurt in 1926. The park still measures 4 hectares today and is characterized by its old and partly exotic tree population. Not far from the former Brentano house, for example, there is a tulip tree planted in 1850 and originally from America. Its flowers, which can be admired from April to May, resemble tulips (tree no. 252). After the municipality purchased the park in 1926, it opened the Brentanobad in 1930, which most locals simply call "Brenner". Originally it was a river swimming pool connected to the Nidda. As the water quality left more and more to be desired, the outdoor pool was redesigned. Today, at 125 meters long, it is the largest pool in Germany. The Petrihaus site served as a depot for the city's drainage system until 1968, and the historic building fell into disrepair. In the 1980s, an initiative by private individuals and companies prevented the demolition and renovated the ensemble. Today, guided tours and cultural events take place here on request. petrihaus-frankfurt.de Ginkgo biloba The leaf of this tree, which has been entrusted to my garden from the east,
Leaves a secret meaning to be tasted,
How it edifies those who know. Is it a living being
That has separated itself into itself,
Are there two that choose each other,
So that they are known as one. To answer such a question
I have found the right meaning;
Don't you feel from my songs
That I am one and double? (September 15, 1815, handwritten in the Gerbermühle)

The park is beautiful.