The event

Garden Show Festival

Fifteen years ago, the ‘Kleine Gartenschau’ took place in Kitzingen. The whole town is still reaping the benefits today. Now a garden show festival is taking place

13 August 2026 by Ralf Dieter

They have been overseeing the future use of the horticultural show grounds since 2012 and are organising the festival on 13 September: the board of the Friends’ Association, comprising Helmut Fuchs, Rolf Wenkheimer, Astrid Glos, Hans Hummel, Angelika Benz, Rosita Ellmauer and Bernhard Ziegler. Karin Böhm is absent. — © Ralf Dieter

Fifteen years can be a long time. At the former State Garden Show site on the banks of the Main in Etwashausen, time seems to have passed without leaving a trace. In 2011, an extremely successful and popular ‘Small State Garden Show’ took place here. At the anniversary celebrations on 13 September, the past will be brought back to life whilst also sparking excitement for the future.

A great opportunity for the town

In 2002, the town first put out feelers. Over the years, a brief application developed into a well-thought-out concept that met with the approval of the Free State. However, the award of the contract to host the ‘Kleine Gartenschau’ in 2011 did not initially bring nothing but sunshine to Kitzingen. Sceptics warned of the risk of flooding for the site, situated directly on the River Main, whilst protests arose against the felling of the poplars on the riverbank. Many residents of Kitzingen had spent much of their youth there. The site held many fond memories for them. Hilmar Hein was one of the two managing directors of the Small Garden Show at the time. As a civil engineer, he was employed by Kitzingen Town Council and had thrown himself into his new role with great enthusiasm. “It was something completely new and a great opportunity for the town,” recalls the Willanzheim resident, who has been enjoying his retirement for the past three years. The planning was complex and not without its surprises. Not every landowner was willing to lease their land for the show, and not every project could actually be realised. “But the success proved us right,” says Hein. The town and the specially founded “Natur in Kitzingen 2011 GmbH” had anticipated around 250,000 visitors over three months. In the end, the figure was around 315,000.

“That really was a very special summer,” recalled Rolf Wenkheimer. Together with other enthusiasts, he founded the Förderverein Gartenschaugelände e.V. a year later. The splendour of 2011 was not to be simply forgotten; the site was to continue to be used and maintained in the years that followed. That was the aim. Fifteen years on, it is clear that the aim has been achieved.

Successful adaptive reuse

On Sunday 13 September, the Friends’ Association, in collaboration with the town of Kitzingen, is hosting a Garden Show Festival. The idea was conceived and initiated by Hugo Weiglein. The lawyer and former town councillor played a major role in bringing the Garden Show to Kitzingen in the first place. His motion to submit a bid for the event was unanimously approved by the town council at the time. The future use of the site was already a topic of discussion both before and during the show. Today, Hugo Weiglein can proudly state: “There is hardly any other place in Bavaria where the reuse of the garden show site has been as successful as it has been here.”

Rolf Wenkheimer sees it exactly the same way. He has been the club’s chairman since it was founded in July 2012. “At the start, there were lots of ideas about how the site could be revitalised,” he recalls. It was the concerts, in particular, that really took off. Dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of spectators attend the morning get-togethers with live music or the evening performances by bands and orchestras. A wide variety of genres can be heard, ranging from brass band music to jazz, rock and classical pieces. The partnership with the municipal music school is very important to Rolf Wenkheimer and his team. They have now built up a large network. The area behind the Winterhafendamm is also being put to good use in the long term. Hans Hummel can still clearly remember how the Etwashausen gardeners grew vegetables there during the garden show, much to the amazement of visitors. “Back then, we had hardly any regulations; instead, we were free to realise our ideas as we saw fit,” recalls the master gardener, fondly looking back on the spirit of community in Kitzingen. “Many groups and clubs wanted to play their part in the success of the garden show,” he says. What remains is an attractive site that the gardener still enjoys visiting today. Just like Rosita Ellmauer. The association’s treasurer was on the site every day during the 2011 Garden Show. Now she enjoys coming along in the afternoons to let her gaze wander over the town’s skyline or to play a game of boules. “This place was and remains an asset to Kitzingen,” she says. It is a place that serves a variety of purposes: the range extends from the popular motorhome site, which is well-frequented all year round, to the international gardens. The ‘Stadtschoppen’ on the ‘Stadtbalkon’ has long since become the weekly meeting place for Kitzingen residents and visitors alike.