garden Gospertstraße 40-42

The garden at Gospertstraße 40-42 is a small but strikingly picturesque corner tucked away in the heart of Eupen, in Belgium's German-speaking Community. Hidden behind a Baroque townhouse, it offers a quiet contrast to the bustle of the city's main shopping street and rewards anyone who steps off the pavement to look for it.

Where does this garden come from?

The building at Gospertstraße 42, to which the garden is attached, was built in 1707, likely to plans by Mefferdatis, a master builder from Aachen. The Baroque house once belonged to well-off merchants of Eupen, a town whose historic wealth came from the cloth trade. Traces of that former prosperity are visible in the proportions and detailing of the facade, and the terraced garden laid out behind the building rounds out the picture of what was clearly a residence of some standing.

What does the garden grounds look like?

The defining feature is a stone retaining wall marking the edge of the terraced garden, reached by a short flight of steps. The compact green area is decorated with short columns topped by carved heads of mythological figures, along with ornamental pillars made of bluestone, a material typical of the wider Eupen-Aachen region. At the centre of the composition sits a circular fountain set within its original bluestone surround, placed on a gravelled area so that its sightline runs directly toward the main building. That sequence — steps, wall, fountain on axis — gives the garden a sense of deliberate, formal design despite its modest size, rather than feeling like a leftover patch of green.

What is housed in the building today?

Since 2009, the building complex at Gospertstraße 40-42 has served a public function: it hosts the offices of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, a cross-border cooperation body linking regions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the office of the Minister-President of Belgium's German-speaking Community. That means the garden, small as it is, sits within grounds of real administrative significance for the wider region rather than on private property.

Can visitors actually access the garden?

The building and its adjoining courtyard garden can be visited Monday to Friday during office hours, roughly 8am to 6pm. A weekday daytime visit is therefore the safest bet — on weekends access is limited, since the site continues to function as the backdrop to working government and cross-border offices.

Why is it worth a detour in Eupen?

Gospertstraße is the old town's main street, lined with townhouses from the era when the cloth trade made Eupen prosperous, so it's easy to walk straight past the entrance without realising what lies behind the facade. This small terraced garden, with its fountain and carved stonework, is one of the few surviving examples of Baroque-era garden design in this part of the Ostbelgien region. It suits travellers who care more about local architecture and history than about sprawling parkland — compact, but dense with detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is entry to the garden free? The grounds surround public office buildings and are accessible during their opening hours at no charge.

How long does a visit take? It's a small space — fifteen to twenty minutes is enough to take in the fountain, the retaining wall and the carved details.

Can it be combined with other sights in Eupen? Yes, the garden sits directly on Gospertstraße, the main street of the old town, so it fits naturally into a walk through the historic centre.

What's worth photographing? The circular fountain in its bluestone surround, aligned with the main building, and the columns crowned with mythological heads along the retaining wall.