Neuenburg State Garden Show 2022

Neuenburg am Rhein in Baden-Württemberg will host the State Garden Show next year. And the Rhine has a special role to play. The town, which is located several hundred meters away from the Rhine despite the addition of “am Rhein” to its name, wants to strengthen the connection to the river again with the LGS. To this end, it is developing a new concept under the motto “City. Land. River.” various projects to re-establish the urban context. You can find out all about the Neuenburg 2022 State Garden Show concept here.

Neuenburg am Rhein can hardly wait – at least that’s what the countdown on the top right-hand side of the website of the State Garden Show 2022 suggests. And it’s not long now until April 22, the day on which the State Garden Show Neuenburg 2022 will open its doors. But it has been in the planning stage for a while: The go-ahead was given in mid-November 2018. At that time, Peter Hauk, Minister for Rural Areas and Consumer Protection, presented the approval notice for the LGS to Mayor Joachim Schuster. The decision also includes a grant of five million euros. This comes from the “Nature in Town and Country” funding program of the state of Baden-Württemberg, which supports state garden shows with 50 percent of their investment sum – up to a maximum of five million. Neuenburg has exhausted this maximum accordingly.

The town chose the slogan “A town goes to the Rhine” for its application. This is because the aim of the State Garden Show Neuchâtel 2022 is to once again honor the town’s name “Neuchâtel on the Rhine”. Over the last few centuries, various developments (such as the Rhine correction in the 19th century) have moved the town away from the river. The addition “on the Rhine” therefore seemed somewhat misleading for a long time: the town lies several hundred meters away from the river. The State Garden Show now offers the opportunity to re-establish the urban context. The Rhine is to become visible, accessible and tangible. In addition, the Rhine floodplains are to be developed as green spaces.

The landscape planning competition for the Neuchâtel State Garden Show 2022 was announced in 2012. It was won by the Berlin landscape architecture firm geskes.hack.

The concept, which the LGS published in April 2019, runs under the name “Stadt. Land. River.”. It is intended to ensure that the city, countryside and river can be experienced holistically as a local recreation and leisure area and are finally perceived as a unit again.

Each of the three areas – city, countryside and river – will have its own measures and projects.

City

One of the LGS city projects is the redevelopment of Schlüsselstrasse. At the same time, the street will be traffic-calmed and attractively designed with street furniture.
The Kronenrain site is located at the western entrance to the city. A new multi-storey parking lot is being built on it, offering a panoramic view to the west and to France. It is also the starting point of a footbridge that leads over the B378 to the adjacent Wuhrlochpark . This is to be redesigned: with a general upgrade, plant renewal and a leisure area with a skate park. Shady areas and restaurants will complete the offer.

The area of mobility also finds its way into the concept: the Vogesenstrasse highway underpass is the key building block for community-friendly mobility development. It is to be redesigned and supplemented with pedestrian and cycle paths.

Land

To the west of the highway, next to the Wuhrlochpark, there is an extensive natural area. Instead of the previous agricultural use, the Rhine gardens are to find their place there. The orchards are to be upgraded and expanded in order to preserve the natural character of the area. A network of paths, including the Rhine Loop – a continuous loop of paths – will complement the park.

Meanwhile, the allotment garden association’s grounds are to undergo a general renovation. Restructured and modernized, the gardens should be more visible in the future.

The LGS-Land projects also include the former district landfill site, which is to be recultivated under the management of the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district – with newly wooded hills, among other things.

River

The Rheinterrasse is the main element of the Landesgartenschau Neuenburg 2022. It is planned adjacent to the Rhine Gardens and is intended to create a link between the town and the Rhine. Three gardens on the themes of the Zähringerstadt, Rhine and Black Forest will line the promenade, which is planned to be 665 meters long and 35 meters wide. There will also be seating, shady roofs and a large playground.

The state of Baden-Württemberg has already begun redesigning the banks of the Rhine – with the integrated Rhine bank program. This combines flood protection (the floodplain landscape acts as a retention area) and leisure facilities. For example, an open-air stage, sports and recreation areas or a viewing platform. In total, the permanent site for the 2022 Neuenburg State Garden Show covers an area of 27 hectares.

Construction work began in 2019 – and there was a lot of it. As the Badische Zeitung reports, large parts of Neuenburg have been one big construction site over the past three years – including restrictions for retailers and traffic chaos. On the other hand, the urban development is impressive: the main shopping street has been given a general overhaul. A new multi-storey parking lot with an observation tower is being built, the outdoor pool in the Steinenstadt district is being renovated and a new senior citizens’ center on the edge of the State Garden Show site is currently under construction. In addition, the highway access has been improved, which strengthens the connection to the other side of the Rhine. There are also many other larger and smaller projects.

In order to recoup the city’s own investment in the Neuchâtel State Garden Show 2022, it will have to charge admission to enter the permanent grounds. As a result, advance sales of season tickets and day tickets will start on October 3, 2022. A day ticket is available for adults for 19 euros, while season tickets can be purchased for 100 euros in the first pre-sale phase. Prices will rise thereafter. A highlight: children and young people up to and including the age of 17 can enter free of charge.

Interested in other Landesgartenschau topics? Here you will find articles on the Landesgartenschau Ingolstadt, the Landesgartenschau Kamp-Lintford and the Landesgartenschau Überlingen.