The "glacis" is a term of the old fortress architecture and translated from the French means "slope". It refers to an uncovered area in front of [a fortress]. An earth bank in front of a fortification ditch that is flat towards the enemy and runs into the apron, leaving no blind spots.
Magdeburg was Prussia's strongest fortified city and served as a bulwark against the French.
The fortifications were laid out around the city in several defensive rings. Around the outermost ring, a wide sloping area was left free so as not to provide cover for the enemy. Called: Glacis.
Napoleon's occupation ended. From then on, the city administration, under pressure from the population, endeavored to reclaim some green spaces from the barren fortress architecture.
Under the leadership of the garden director Paul Niemeyer, the Herrenkrugpark, the Park am Fürstenwall, parts of the Stadtpark and also the Glacis-Anlagen, which continued to extend in a ring around the city, were created.
parts of Ravelin 2 and Glacis were destroyed by bomb hits. Many remaining fortifications were demolished.
With the stones thus obtained, the bombed city was rebuilt. Trenches and lower-lying parts of the fortress were filled in with rubble. This created more level areas, which later became the meadows and green spaces of the glacis.
the Magdeburg city expressway (tangent) was routed through the Glacis. Ravelin 2 was almost demolished for this purpose as well. Later, other roads and paths were also cut through the park, such as the connection Liebknechtstraße to Maybachstraße.
Throughout the city, old fortifications were sacrificed or former glacis were rezoned for construction projects.
you can only roughly recognize the former course of the green ring in Magdeburg. Mainly the glacis is still preserved in Stadtfeld between Adelheidring and Maybachstraße. To the south, it continues across the Platz des 17. Juni to the Carl-Miller-Bad along the Klinke behind AMO and ends in the Klosterbergegarten.
Northward it continues behind Damaschkeplatz at Editharing, crosses Albert-Vater-Strasse and continues eastward via Geschwister-Scholl-Park and Nordpark.
