Due to its location alone, the district of Munich is a region of exceptional diversity – with its rural charm in the south and the more urban structures in the east and north. But there is also a lot to discover here. For example, Europe’s longest raft slide in Mühltal near Straßlach-Dingharting, which, with its 345 meters in length, primarily attracts fans from the Munich area. The district now wants to sharpen its tourism profile both nationally and internationally and will be presenting and marketing itself for the first time at the Green Week in Berlin next February.
On Wednesday, March 16, the district council’s committee for sports, culture and partnerships will discuss participation in the fair in Berlin, which normally attracts more than 400,000 visitors. The districts of Freising, Ebersberg and Dachau, for example, have been represented at the Green Week for years.
The aim of the district of Munich is to present itself with its own stand in the so-called Bayern Hall on the grounds of Messe Berlin. Normally, according to the district office, it is an almost impossible undertaking to get a stand due to the great competition. But now, after consultation with the Alp-Bayern agency for food, the opportunity has arisen for the district to apply for exactly such a stand.
The authority of District Administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU) has clearly defined the goals for participation in the Green Week: It is about focusing on the district as a tourist destination and marketing regional products from the district, since the Green Week is valid primarily as the most important international show for agriculture, nutritional science and horticulture. In addition, it should be about presenting the cultural diversity of the district, deepening the “promotion of district identity” through cooperation between various institutions and partners who are supposed to represent the district at the Green Week and developing a “sense of community”. And the district office also makes it clear that the district wants to appear as an independent, homogeneous construct – “in contrast to the city of Munich”.
The Green Week in Berlin always takes place in February, and the fair was first held in 1926. Even then, more than 50,000 visitors were counted. At today’s Green Weeks, more than 1800 exhibitors present products from Germany and all over the world, the trade fair is accompanied by numerous specialist events, there are worlds of experience, for example on the topics of renewable raw materials or wood and forestry. The trade fair planned for the beginning of this year was canceled due to the corona pandemic.
In the coming year, the district wants to be represented with its own delegation in the federal capital. The appearance in the Bayern-Halle in Berlin is financially supported by the Bavarian Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, but the district would still have to pay around 40,000 euros. But then he could reveal his full diversity to a wide audience. In addition to the raft slide in the Mühltal, these naturally include the Schleissheim palaces and the second-largest collection in Lustheim Palace after the Meissen porcelain collection. Or Germany’s largest planetarium: the Eso Supernova in the university town of Garching. And the only drive-in cinema in Bavaria in Aschheim.
These sights have long been known to many. After all, well over a million people visit the district every year. For 2019, the State Statistical Office for the district of Munich recorded more than 2.5 million overnight stays. The visit to the Green Week should boost these numbers again.