1817: AT SCHLOSSER WAS BALL
A few trees, some greenery. Dogs sniff for yesterday's scent. Boys play on the football pitch. Nothing reveals how close you are to the Main, the ships and the waterfowl. The pedestrian passage between Mainstrasse and Kirchgasse bears the label "d'Orville Park". It is the remains of a place that once provided a salon for the city's social life. It resembles a beggar woman, of whom only a few still know that she was once an idolized princess.
The green space has had a number of names. It was called "Stadtgarten" for a while, and sometimes "Aktiengarten" because it belonged to a public limited company. When the Fatherland was in need of heroic role models, at that time under the swastika, it was called "Admiral-Schmidt-Park". This honored a brash naval hero, probably the only one from Offenbach. His honor was revoked in 1945. Heroes were no longer needed.
The boys on the football pitch kick the ball in a place that once saw balls in a different sense. The "Komödienhaus", Offenbach's theater, had stood on Kirchgasse, near the castle church, since 1792. It not only hosted guest performances by traveling ensembles and well-attended concerts, even featuring the world-famous violinist Paganini. The balls and redoubts held there were also famous. The local historian Emil Pirazzi wrote in 1879 that they were attended "even by the first Frankfurt families".
The palace garden adjoined it on the banks of the Main, but it was not maintained as a pleasure garden but as a kitchen garden. In 1817, when Prince Isenburg had become a private citizen, resided only in Birstein, lost interest in Offenbach and presumably also needed money, Johann Heinrich Schlosser bought the area. He was a busy immigrant from Friesland, a watchmaker, then cellar master and finally caretaker of the "Komödienhaus". Schlosser rounded off the castle garden with adjoining gardens and opened a restaurant in it, the first garden restaurant in the city.
Its terrace bordered directly on the Main, which at that time still rippled across today's Mainstrasse.
Schlosser was soon able to rent the theater building, and in 1843 his son Gustav was able to buy the theater. As "Schlosser's properties", it became the most prestigious establishment in the city. It remained so even when the founder's son sold it in 1866. In order to preserve this jewel for the city, a company of wealthy citizens was formed to continue the business. The name "Aktiengarten" was popularly invented for the green spaces.
The estate became a venue for everything that was supposed to be fine, but also a meeting place for ordinary people. On the emperor's birthday, the officers of the garrison dined there with the civilian dignitaries. Medals gleamed, brushed beards sparkled in the candlelight. The regimental band gave concerts outdoors and in the hall. In good weather, the waiters dashed across the terrace to serve families. On festive evenings, the river reflected the illuminations like silver jewelry.
Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the changes came thick and fast. The Main moved away. In 1890, work began on redesigning the banks of the Main. Between the old Main gardens and the river, Mainstraße, the embankment and the foreshore were created. Schlosser's terrace was no longer on the bank. The joint stock company also began to falter for other reasons.
In 1902, the property was put up for auction and the city took it.
It ran the business under the name "Offenbacher Theater und Stadtgarten". But not for long. What was left of "Schlosser's properties" fell under the pickaxe in December 1934, and the Stadtgarten was given the name "Admiral-Schmidt-Park". However, it did not bear this name for long.
By Lothar R. Braun.
Published in the OFFENBACH POST