IllustrationCome to Volkspark Marienberg for a family walk with room to play and a small flower garden worth slowing down for.
Come to Volkspark Marienberg for a family walk with room to play and a small flower garden worth slowing down for. This roughly 120-hectare landscape park lies in northern Nürnberg, between Kilianstraße and Marienbergstraße. Broad recreational spaces, wooded edges and a pond give you several quite different ways to spend an afternoon. Start at the southern running-course information board if you want a clearly measured walk; choose the northern side if the pond and InsektenReich are your main reason for coming.
The InsektenReich is the park’s especially rewarding close-up stop. In this 1,700-square-metre garden, native flowers were planted to feed insects, and the vegetation has gradually developed its own changing pattern. It sits a little above and east of the pond. Walk its small paths slowly, choose a flower patch within view and wait. Children can compare a visitor that hovers with one that lands, or count how many different flower shapes they can find without picking anything.
Elsewhere, leave time for the large playground towards the Falknerweg side and for simply sitting on an ordinary recreational lawn. The Marienbuck gives the landscape a raised, wooded landmark and a story to talk about: beneath it lies rubble from the wartime destruction of the former airfield. You do not have to climb it to enjoy the park. The signed walking and running circuits offer flat alternatives, while the quieter garden visit can be an outing in its own right. Take the ultimate field guide with you: use the Snappit app to identify birds, plants, and animals on your trip.
The Tucher family helped turn this area into a leisure destination in the 19th century. Ponds originally supplied ice for cooling brewery beer, and visitors later used the water for recreation. An airfield occupied the area before its destruction during the Second World War; rubble was gathered into what became Marienbuck. Once the airport moved to its present location, the grounds developed into an English-style landscape park. A much smaller transformation began in 2014, when part of an old perennial garden was prepared for insect-friendly planting. Volunteers and Noris Inklusion planted the InsektenReich in March 2015. Today's outing connects those different layers: industrial water use, aviation history, public recreation and hands-on habitat care.
Choose the blue Powerade-Runde for a short, approximately 1.6 km circuit, or the orange SportScheck-Runde for approximately 3.5 km with a wider sweep through the park and past the pond area. Start at the information board near Kilianstraße 195, follow the matching route signs and finish back at that board. Both are described as flat and unlit. Playground, garden and hill detours are additional to the signed distance.
The red Sparkassen-Runde is approximately 4.2 km. Its extra section goes north of Marienbergstraße around the former drive-in cinema site, so it involves crossing the road out and back. Families who prefer to remain within the main park can choose the orange circuit instead. A separate green connection to Stadtpark is 1.3 km each way, adding 2.6 km if you return, before any walk within Stadtpark.
For a nature-first visit, enter from Marienbergstraße near Tucherhof, take the public paths towards the pond, visit the InsektenReich east of it, then retrace your approach to the same entrance. This is an informal out-and-back without a published distance. Keep to garden paths and the open park network; branches laid across a woodland shortcut are a barrier, not an invitation to step over.
Use the park in daylight and check current city notices and entrance signs before setting out. Public play areas normally allow use April–October from 08:00–21:00, or 09:00–21:00 on Sundays and public holidays; November–March hours are 09:00–20:00. Posted local times override these. Summer water play depends on the equipment being in service. In snow, Marienbuck is a traditional sledging spot, but judge conditions on the day. Keep off pond ice; a frozen appearance is no assurance of safe access. Keep play areas free of tobacco and alcohol, and follow posted age limits.
The three signed circuits are described as flat, without a climb over Marienbuck. That helps when choosing a gentler outing, but there is no route-specific guarantee here of continuous step-free surfaces, suitable kerbs or wheelchair turning space. The InsektenReich has smaller paths and sits above the pond. For a visit with wheels, start by assessing the main paths and omit any unsuitable branch. An accessible public WC is listed at the Kilianstraße car park; bring a Euro key if you use that scheme. For access or toilet questions, contact SÖR on 0911 231-7637.
A managed native-flower garden for patient watching and close-up photographs.
Approximately 1.6, 3.5 or 4.2 km, with flat profiles and a clear return to the start.
A waterside pause followed by room for a picnic or gentle play.
A former-airfield story to combine with an unhurried family outing.
Follow the blue loop from the southern information board and return to that board. It stays in the eastern part of the mapped circuit network; the pond and InsektenReich need a separate detour.
Choose according to the surfaces you find and your mobility needs; this is not a certified step-free route.
Follow the orange circuit from the southern information board around the wider park network, passing the pond area, and complete the loop back to the start. Stay with its signs at shared-route junctions.
Choose according to the surfaces you find and your mobility needs; this is not a certified step-free route.
Complete the red circuit from the southern information board. Its northern extension crosses Marienbergstraße, includes the former drive-in cinema grounds and crosses back into the park. Finish at the original board.
Choose according to the surfaces you find and your mobility needs; this is not a certified step-free route.
Enter from Marienbergstraße near Tucherhof and use the public paths towards the pond. Visit the InsektenReich on its eastern side, explore only the open small garden paths, then retrace the same park approach to the entrance.
Assess the garden approach before committing to it. You can shorten the visit to suitable main park paths.
Choose one visible patch in the InsektenReich. Without trying to name everything, count landings for five minutes and compare what each visitor does. One child can count while another photographs; then swap. Your tally describes that short watch, not how many insects live in the park.
Compare a mown recreational lawn with a taller flower area from the path. Which is better for a picnic blanket, and which has more stems, flowers or shelter? This is a simple way to see why one park needs different kinds of care.
When the weather is merely damp, pair a short walk with Tante Noris im Park and its play corner. It normally opens Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00–18:00, with shorter August hours, and closes on public holidays. Check before travelling; the park itself has no all-weather visitor centre promised here.
Pale flowers make a gentle subject against darker leaves. Take one close view and one whole-plant photograph from the path; leave the stems untouched.
Look for blue flowers along upright stems. Wait beside a visible patch for natural insect visits, rather than moving a stem to improve your photograph.
The clustered pinkish flowers are a good place to pause and watch visitors arrive. This is garden habitat: enjoy the oregano without taking a sprig.
Compare its smaller blue-purple flowers with the nearby blue-flowered plants. Include leaves and the whole branching stem in your photograph before trying an identification.
Look closely along the stem: the modest flowers sit among conspicuous leaves. It makes a useful change from photographing only the largest and brightest blooms.
Look for the hanging violet bells. Try a side-on photograph that shows how they sit along the stem, without reaching into the planting.
A passing white butterfly is only a starting point. If it settles within view, photograph the dark wing tips and markings before deciding which white it is.
If a small blue settles, try to capture its underside pattern as well as its upper wings. A blue flash alone is not a secure identification.
Watch a flowering patch from the path for this bee. A sharp photograph of its abdomen can help with identification; do not follow it towards a nest.
Watch for a dragonfly that returns to the same perch. Take a side view if possible; reddish colour alone cannot separate the similar darters.
The six flower subjects are cultivated native plants in a managed garden. The four insect subjects are wild species documented by the 2019–2020 InsektenReich survey; they are possibilities rather than a checklist to complete. Use public paths, leave nesting places and dead wood alone, and never catch or handle animals for a photograph.
Preparing the InsektenReich involved removing some topsoil and adding sand. The aim was to give native flowers suited to lean soil a better chance, rather than encouraging only the most vigorous growth.
The northern off-lead area was rearranged in 2025 to reduce conflicts and keep dogs away from sensitive sandy habitats. Follow its current signs, even if you remember an older, larger area.
For a southern start, locate the Kilianstraße car-park WC before beginning your circuit. The Falknerweg playground has a separate public WC nearby. Tante Noris im Park, at Braillestraße 27, is an independent cafe stop with a children’s indoor play corner and outdoor playground; include its approach and return in your day rather than assuming it sits on your chosen circuit.
For an autumn visit, make the unlit circuits a daylight outing and leave time for the return to transport. Follow signs at entrances and along the eastern woodland edge. If a route is blocked, shorten the walk and return on open paths instead of pushing through a closed side path.
Each card links to a full Explore page with photos, traits, and fun facts.
Start with the big picture, then zoom in to explore individual wildlife observations around this place.
Arrive on the right side
Marienbuck on bus 46 suits the Kilianstraße start. Tucherhof on buses 30/31 suits the northern pond approach. Check VAG’s journey planner for both directions on your day.
Carry the official route plan
Match its colours to the on-site signs. Stop before a junction to check, and leave passing space for runners and cyclists. Ride only on paths signed for cycling.
Dogs
Use a strong lead no longer than 1.2 m outside signed off-lead zones. Follow the revised northern-zone signs. Dogs are excluded from playgrounds and their immediate surroundings, water features and planting beds; assistance-dog exemptions apply.
Picnic thoughtfully
Use recreational lawns, keep out of planted and protected areas, and take litter home if bins are full. Save forceful ball games for the designated pitches.
Barbecues
Use only the marked Kilianstraße or Marienbergstraße grill areas, between 09:00 and 21:00, with a suitable grill. Follow any temporary restrictions. Open fires and tents or pavilions are not allowed.
Plan a toilet stop
There is a public WC by the Falknerweg playground as well as the accessible facility at the Kilianstraße car park. Bring coins and do not assume every facility will be available at every hour.
Bring drinks and a snack
Tante Noris im Park at Braillestraße 27 offers a cafe option with its own play corner. It normally opens Tuesday–Saturday and closes on public holidays; check its current hours before building your day around it.
Look without disturbing
Leave flowers, stems and dead wood in place, do not feed wildlife and keep children close near water. Stay out of blocked woodland side paths, especially along the eastern edge.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
Maryland, US
You might spot White-Tailed Deer and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
View guide →
District of Columbia, US
You might spot Eastern Gray Squirrel, Duck, and House Sparrow.
View guide →
Illinois, US
You might spot American Robin, Canada Goose, and House Sparrow.
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Virginia, US
You might spot Spotted Lanternfly and Northern Cardinal.
View guide →
Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
