From Garages to Flowers: What the State Garden Show Offers - Thuringia’s Landesschau Garden Festival transforms industrial wasteland into a vibrant green oasis
The fifth Landesschau-Garden Festival of Thuringia (LGS) will open in Leinefelde-Worbis in less than 100 days. Running from April 23 to October 11, 2026, the 172-day event expects 300,000 visitors. Organisers have transformed a former industrial area into a green space with gardens, playgrounds, and cultural attractions.
Planning for the LGS faced multiple delays. Bad weather, supply chain issues, the COVID-19 pandemic, and unexpected archeological finds pushed back preparations. Traces of the medieval village Kirrode were uncovered and later included in the exhibition.
The event will feature 1.2 million flower bulbs, a children’s playground, a skate park, a streetball court, and a temporary stage for performances. A new playground draws inspiration from Worbis’s historic old town and Leinefelde’s textile-milling past. The Ohne stream has been renaturalised, and fruit trees planted as part of ecological improvements.
After the festival, the site—a former garage-lined area—will become an eco-friendly residential quarter. The total cost of hosting the LGS is estimated at €12 million.
The LGS will run for nearly six months, offering gardens, sports facilities, and cultural events. Once completed, the area will serve as a green residential district for the community. The project blends history, ecology, and urban development in Leinefelde-Worbis.
