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The Großer Tiergarten is a park covering an area of 210 hectares. After the Englischer Garten in Munich (375 hectares) and Tempelhofer Park (355 hectares), which is also in Berlin, it is Germany’s third-largest inner-city park. Several wide roads run through the Großer Tiergarten and intersect at the Großer Stern. When Berlin was much smaller than it is today, this was originally the hunting ground of the Electors of Brandenburg. Wild animals were released here and kept from escaping into the surrounding areas by fences. King Frederick II had the grounds transformed into a park for the public. Tree-lined avenues, flowerbeds, ponds, mazes and ornamental lakes were created. Between 1833 and 1840, the grounds were redesigned as an English-style landscaped park, based on plans by landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné. World War II ended with the city suffering severe damage, and the park was no exception. In the postwar years, Berliners cut down most of the trees and shrubs for firewood. They planted vegetable gardens in the park to improve their food supply. Of the original 200,000 trees, only around 700 remained. The park was replanted between 1949 and 1959. In the years that followed, it was used mainly for recreation and leisure by West Berliners, who were cut off from the surrounding area by the Berlin Wall. People celebrated, ate and drank, barbecued and played on the lawns. Since 1991, the Großer Tiergarten has been a protected garden monument of the State of Berlin. Since then, Straße des 17. Juni, which runs through the park and connects the Brandenburg Gate with the Großer Stern, has regularly hosted major events, such as public screenings of the FIFA World Cup and a big New Year’s Eve party every year.