When we think of romantic German castles, we don’t usually think of pumpkins, but…. Why not?
If you’re like me and love all things pumpkin and Fall, run, don’t walk, to the Kürbisausstellung Ludwigsburg (Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Exhibition). In the German state of Baden-Württemberg, just north of Stuttgart, this is the biggest pumpkin festival in the world, and truly the best pumpkin festival I have ever been to. With over 450,000 pumpkins on the grounds of the Schloss Ludwigsburg, this is no surprise. We’ve made a point of returning again and again.
What’s so great about THIS pumpkin festival? How is it unlike the others? Well, it’s not just pumpkins. It happens on the beautiful and expansive grounds of the Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany, which is a beautiful venue in and of itself. This palace complex is one of the best, and largest examples of a Baroque Palace, often called the Versailles of Swabia. Both the grounds and the interior are available for guided tours, in German or English, for a separate fee. The grounds are absolutely incredible and are some of the finest examples of landscaped Italian, French and fantasy gardens around.
The palace itself sits behind a large, picturesque lake, with a “front yard” that is free of pumpkins, with the exception of the Pumpkin Regatta (more later). The castle itself is being restored to represent the time of Frederick I, but also includes two museums and a “kinderreich” (children’s kingdom) among 18 buildings in the palace complex. The castle is a popular venue for weddings, so if you’re lucky, you may see a wedding couple exiting the palace as you walk past. The palace grounds include grottoes, ruins, a playground, and fairytale garden. When I say a fairytale garden, I mean it. There are large displays representing many of the classic fairytales. The grounds are an amazing backdrop for the pumpkin exhibition but if you can’t make it for the pumpkin festival, it is well worth a visit at any time.
But let’s say you ARE going to make it for the festival. The pumpkin displays are always amazing. There is a central core of displays but much of it varies in keeping with the theme for the current year. The activities also change from week to week throughout the festival, and they are all a ton of fun. And there is so much more, so let’s dig in!
The theme of the festival changes every year ranging from past themes such as a Swiss theme, to “Royalty”, “Circus”, “Underwater”, “Fabulous Fairytale of the World”, to this year’s theme which is “Fire.” The festival reflects the theme with massive sculptures each made with hundreds of pumpkins. Paths wind around each sculpture throughout the festival so you can find a great photo opportunity at every turn.
As for activities during the festival, they vary each year, but you can always count on the Pumpkin Carving World (sand sculptures featuring carved pumpkins), weighing of the giant pumpkins (some so heavy they are moved with cranes), pumpkin carving (either carve your own or come watch experts carve giant pumpkins – true works of art!), and my favorite; the Pumpkin Regatta. That’s right, canoeists race in their boats carved out of giant pumpkins! Some sink, some float, all are fun to watch. If you want to try your hand at paddling a pumpkin boat but have not grown a giant pumpkin of your own, there are pumpkin boats available for you to use, just go to the website for more information. Just be forewarned that round boats are inherently unstable! https://www.juckerfarm.ch/anlass/kuerbis-regatta/
For the calendar of events, visit the Pumpkin Events page of the festival website. https://www.juckerfarm.ch/hoferlebnis/kuerbisausstellung-ludwigsburg/#anlass
In addition to regular German fare, there are plenty of opportunities to try pumpkin specialty dishes at the festival to include pumpkin fries, pumpkin spaetzle, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin waffles, and pumpkin soup, to name a few. Once during the festival, a pot of Germany’s Largest Soup is made, so be sure to try it.
There is shopping is available if you are looking for pumpkin treats to take home. You can even buy pumpkin seeds to try growing some of these beauties at home.
If you ever tire of the pumpkins, you can pop out for a stroll through the palace’s beautiful rose garden, or any of the others, before jumping back into the orange goodness!
If you have the opportunity, this event is not to be missed. I recommend going early in the season so you have time left to visit again before the festival ends.
The Details
The festival runs from 25 August to 3 Dec and admission is included for the admission price of the Ludwigsburg Palace Gardens. https://ticketshop.blueba.de/
Tickets can be purchased online or by standing in the queue at the palace gate. There is no parking on site, but if you are lucky you may grab a spot on the street within within 300 meters of the main entrance and there are plenty of normal parking garages available outside the castle grounds, though you will have a walk just to get to the grounds. There is plenty to see without walking stairs, but many of the paths are dirt or gravel, so keep that in mind if you have limited mobility. The venue can become quite crowded, especially during the weekends when most of the events are held. The line to enter the palace grounds during the festival can get long, but it usually moves pretty quickly.
