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Freizeitpark »Horner Rennbahn« - Hamburg, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member alsterdrache
N 53° 33.578 E 010° 05.227
32U E 572008 N 5935077
This public park for various leisure activities is located in the center of the »Horner Rennbahn«, a horse race course that is home of the German Derby. This alone makes it a special public park in Hamburg if not perhaps in the whole country ...
Waymark Code: WMJGJE
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Date Posted: 11/16/2013
Views: 53

ENGLISH: Back in the 1850s, Horn was still a tiny village in Prussia, just east of the city of Hamburg, with a lot of space. In 1855, the local Hamburg horse race club was founded, bought most of the area, and built a horse race course that was completed in 1869. In the same year, the first national German Derby took place in Horn. In 1874, Horn was declared a suburb of Hamburg and consequently incorporated, as the city grew and enlarged, in 1894 as an official district of Hamburg.

In 1970, the Senate of Hamburg (state government) decided to open the center of the area for the general public, except during the derby week once a year. The concept of a public leisure park was born and implemented. One of the first attractions at that time was Hamburg's (nowadays oldest) miniature golf course that is still operating; cf. its own waymark: (visit link)

The last renovation of the inner area that belongs the leisure park was in 2008/2009. Two official fire places were installed, a special area for skaters, soccer and basketball fields, a shed as a picnic place, as well as a fenced area where dogs are allowed to run without being on a leash.

Due to the fact that the park is within the horse race course, there is no sign or something like a main entrance to the area but in fact four different entrances.

The small shed at the eastern side of the park has become a fixed and well-known place for the local Hamburg geocaching community for outdoor events like CITOs or the Geocaching in Space event that was Groundspeak's only live remote connection to an event in Europe on November 7th, 2013. There are also various geocaches stashed in the public park. Geocaching HQ Lackey Cindy Potter officially visited the park on November 11th, 2013, and played her first Wherigo here.

DEUTSCH: Im Jahre 1850 war Horn noch ein kleines, unbedeutendes Dorf in Preußen, östlich von Hamburg, mit vielen Freiflächen. Der Hamburger Rennclub gründete sich 1855, kaufte ein großes Grundstück in Horn und erbaute dort die Horner Rennbahn (fertiggestellt 1869; im selben Jahr fand dort das erste Derby statt). 1874 wurde Horn zum Vorort Hamburgs ernannt und 1894 in die sich ausbreitende Stadt als Stadtteil eingemeindet.

Die Entscheidung, die Innenflächen außerhalb der Derbywoche der Allgemeinheit zugänglich zu machen, traf der Senat 1970: Die Idee eines Freizeitparks war geboren und wurde umgesetzt. Eine der Attraktionen war Hamburgs erster (heute ältester) Minigolfplatz, der seinen eigenen Waymark hat: (visit link)

Die letzte Neugestaltung des Geländes erfolgte 2008/2009, bei der zwei offizielle Grillplätze, eine Skaterbahn, Fußball- und Basketballflächen, eine Picknick-Hütte sowie eine umzäunte Hundeauslauffläche geschaffen wurden. Der Zugang erfolgt weiterhin über die Rennbahn selbst.

Die kleine Picknick-Hütte am östlichen Rand des Freizeitparks wird von der lokalen Geocaching-Gemeinschaft gern für CITOs und andere Events genutzt. Ebenso befinden sich einige Geocaches auf dem Gelände.
Name: Freizeitpark »Horner Rennbahn«

Street Location: Rennbahnstraße/Hermannstal (four different entrances)

Local Municipality: Bezirk Hamburg-Mitte (Central District of Hamburg)

State/Province, etc.: Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Federal State)

Country: Germany

Web Site: [Web Link]

Memorial/Commemoration: none

Date Established: 1970 (originally built in 1855)

Picnic Facilities: 2 fire places; 1 pavillion, and many benches.

Recreational Facilities:
Established area for outdoor events of the local geocaching community; playhouse for cildren with an outside playground; basketball, soccer, and skater areas; the oldest miniature golf course of Hamburg (established in 1970, see specific waymark); seasonal horse riding; fenced area for free-running dogs in accordance with local dog laws.


Monuments/Statues: none

Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): none

Fountains: none

Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: »Rennbahnsee« (pond) in the center of the park

Special Events: Deutsches Derby (horse race contest of European importance)

Traditional Geocaches:
GC2RYFE (climbing tree), plus various puzzle and multi geocaches, and a Wherigo (GC45K1D; nominated for the contest »Hamburg's Cache of the Year 2013«) that combines the area itself with a derby-related story based on facts.


Visit Instructions:
One photo of the park that is a different view from the one on the page, and give the date and description your visit.

Add any additional information that you may have about this park. A GPSr photo is NOT required.
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