Het Park (The Park) is a green oasis within Rotterdam with a very recognisable tower: the Euromast. The Euromast was built in 1960 by architect Maaskant for the Floriade (the world horticultural exhibition) in that year. With a height of 185m it was the highest tower of Rotterdam for a long time.

During that time the park already went through quite a few design stages. The first lay-out was designed in 1852 by father and son Zocher, in the romantic English landscape style with graceful ponds, sloping lawns and winding footpaths, in which the Zochers were specialised. 20 years later, a second part was added to Het Park, which was separated from the first part by a ditch running across the site in the north-south direction. This ditch was filled in a century later and is nowadays marked by rows of rhododendrons.

Another 20 years later, the Heuvel was constructed along the river, protecting the Park from the river but it couldn’t prevent the park from flooding in 1952. This hill is still visible today, however the actual flood defence of the city is now the westerzeedyke, which is on the North side of the park. After the park flooded in 1953, it was redesigned by Bijhouwer and Vroom as the park we know today.

Highlight
You can experience the height of the tower yourself by buying a ticket and going up on the platforms and taking the Euroscoop for a 360 degrees view of Rotterdam.

Sources
Albers Adviezen Historische parken. (2006). Het Park te Rotterdam: Cultuurhistorisch onderzoek en aanbevelingen. In edepot.wur.nl. https://edepot.wur.nl/184901

Hét Park – Rotterdamse Parken. (n.d.). https://rotterdamseparken.nl/site/parken/het-park/