Beautiful LÄND: Blühendes Barock and Fairytale Garden in Ludwigsburg  [10.08.22]

Rococo splendour, beautiful gardens, the world's biggest pumpkin exhibition, and all drenched in German fairytales - Ludwigsburg has it all!

Blühendes Barock and Fairytale Garden in Ludwigsburg

The scent of blossoms and the magic of fairytales in the extensive gardens of the Blühendes Barock (engl. Blossoming Baroque) in Ludwigsburg. Germany's oldest and most beautiful horticultural show offers a variety of impressions for all the senses in a special setting - carefully staged by tireless garden artists.
This is how the Blühendes Barock presents itself to its visitors.

Covid-19
To date there is no visitor limitation. Online ticket purchase possible but not mandatory as well as wearing a mask inside of buildings. We highly recommend wearing a mask in closed spaces.

Opening hours and prices
The Blühendes Barock and the Fairytale Garden are open to the public. The opening hours during the season (until 4th of December) are from 7.30 am – 8.30 pm for the Blühendes Barock and 9 am – 6 pm for the Fairytale Garden. You can enter the park via the main entrance in Schorndorfer Straße (9 am – 6 pm), the entrance in the rear courtyard of the palace (from 8 am – 8 pm) or the entrance in Mömpelgardstraße (10 am - 5 pm). One-day student tickets are available with a valid student ID for €4.80 with which you can visit the Blühendes Barock and the Fairytale Garden.

What is the Blühendes Barock?
In Ludwigsburg, founded by Eberhard Ludwig in the 1700s, extensive gardens were laid out to the north and south of the palace, which changed and expanded as the palace complex was further extended. Around 1770 the gardens became uninteresting and many parts were leased out as clover meadows. Under the reign of Duke Friedrich II (who became king in 1806), the gardens, which had by then fallen into serious disrepair, regained their esteem from 1797 onwards. While retaining the avenues as structural elements, a large oval basin was created in the south garden with a canal leading to the palace. Four large compartments were arranged around it, each with a vase by Isopi in the centre. After King Friedrich, Ludwigsburg again sank into insignificance. Under Wilhelm I, who came to power in times of great famine, the garden was opened to the people in 1828. In 1947, the gardens were put under the control of Albert Schöchle, the director of the state parks and gardens. During a visit to the 1951 Federal Garden Show in Hanover, Schöchle became convinced that a much better garden show could be held in Ludwigsburg. In autumn 1953, most of the grounds had been levelled to the extent that beds could be planted. Tens of thousands of shrubs and hundreds of metres of hedges. From the various tree and rose nurseries came 22,000 roses. Furthermore, 400,000 golden violet, forget-me-nots, pansies and other spring-flowering plants were planted. A giant step into the present: today's grounds cover 300,000m² and has around 150.000 plants, 12.000 roses alone.

Fairytales Come True
In addition to the Blühendes Barock (also called BlüBa), the Märchengarten (engl. Fairy Tale Garden) was created in 1957, in which about 50 German fairy tales are brought to life with the help of figures, sound effects and mechanical devices - a real old-school Disney Land, only a bit gloomier. Even if you are all grown up, it's worth taking a step into the fairytale garden, especially if you are interested in German culture. There is a lot of debate about whether there is such a thing as "THE" German culture - if you ask us, fairy tales (probably best known are the fairy tales published by the Brothers Grimm) are somehow part of a German culture, whatever that culture may be…
During the season there are always different events like the Musikfeuerwerk, Lichterzauber or the Straßenmusikfestival taking place. For those events you will need extra tickets, here you can also get a student discount. Make sure to visit the World’s Biggest Pumpkin Exhibition in the Blühendes Barock. In 2022, it takes place from 26th August to 4th of December. Not only do they show a lot of different pumpkins and squashes, but also figures made of pumpkins, pumpkin carving, and offer lots of pumpkin-based food. Find more info here: www.blueba.de/en/pumpkin-exhibition.html

Ludwigsburg Palace
At the beginning of the 18th century, Duke Eberhard Ludwig had built a huge and representative palace and Ludwigsburg was added as a new residential town. Ludwigsburg Palace became the scene of great events for example the proclamation of the first democratic constitution of the country in 1919. Ludwigsburg Palace is partly still in its original baroque form. Other areas have been heavily altered: Palace architecture and interior decoration were shaped - in just under a hundred years - by three successive stylistic epochs: from Baroque to Rococo to Classicism. The palace is open for visitors and guided tours (also English tours). Opening times are from Mon – Son and on holidays from 11 am – 3.30 pm in season 1 (10th January – 14th March) and from 10 am – 5 pm in season 2 (15th March – 15th November). You can purchase a one-day student ticket with a valid student ID for €4.30.

How to get to the Blühendes Barock?
Use VVS.de to find your perfect connection. You can take the bus 70 to Ruhbank, then change into U7 (Mönchfeld). Get off at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, then walk down to the S-Bahn tracks. Take S5 (Bietigheim-Bissingen) and get off at Ludwigsburg. From there you can either walk (~ 1km, about 12 - 15 minutes) and take in some more of the city itself or take the bus 425 (Oßweil Hirschstraße). This takes 4 minutes; the stop is called "Blühendes Barock".
Keep in mind that until the end of August it is possible to use the 9 € ticket to travel to Ludwigsburg. Afterwards, you can still take advantage of your student ID (only on weekends!).  

PS: A word of warning if you travel to Ludwigsburg by car: the city is infamous for its many speed cameras €€€

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