The shuttle bus meanders leisurely through the 7,000-strong city of Freyung, which has welcomed well over 100,000 visitors in recent months. People get on again and again, they want to go to the Geyersberg, to the state garden show – at 800 meters above sea level the highest ever. When the bus has climbed the mountain, the advantage of this exceptional location becomes apparent: the view of the Bavarian Forest.
A spicy, aromatic smell hangs in the air. “That’s the marjoram,” explains Bärbel Benkenstein-Matschiner, who is responsible for public relations. She guides you through the exhibition. During the week, especially in the mornings, it is mainly seniors who are out and about here. Benkenstein-Matschiner reports that most of the activity is at the weekend or during evening events. “We’re very happy with the response so far,” she says. Under the motto “Forest. Space. Wonderful.” Freyung will welcome its guests at the 34th State Garden Show until October 3rd.
The complex nestles against the mountain, there are both hidden corners and wide viewing platforms. But you will look in vain for a sea of blossoms and exotic plants on the eleven hectares of grounds. There is a reason for this: “In the past, the state garden shows were mainly flower shows. That is no longer up to date,” explains Bärbel Benkenstein-Maschiner. Here in Freyung, the focus is on naturalness and biodiversity.
And that is not so easy, because the altitude brings with it climatic difficulties. “The winter lasted longer up here. Added to this are the cold night temperatures. Well, we’re about four weeks later here than in Passau,” says Benkenstein-Maschiner, pointing to the blooming lavender, which has already dried up in her own garden . The strawberries are not yet ripe either, although a red tip is already visible in places. Many crops were cultivated. In this way, visitors can enjoy twice as much – when viewing and when tasting.
Soft red and orange tones dominate the current summer floral pattern. No bright colors, everything moderate. There are eleven flower shows that alternate every 14 days. The current show is called “WALDBaden” – a play on words, because delicate blossoms float on the water surface in large pools. A 65-year-old visitor marvels at a tub and eagerly takes pictures. She’s local and has a season ticket. “I just really like the decorations. The city itself is also worth seeing with all the flowers in front of the shops and the loving design.”
Freyung has made the district of Geyersberg fit for decades
That’s exactly what the city is hoping for, of course – influx in the town itself. Mayor Olaf Heinrich (CSU) confirms that tourism has increased. “We notice that enormously here,” says the mayor happily. Much more important to him, however, is the cohesion in the city that came about as a result of concentrating on the huge project. More than 80 percent of the facilities created are to remain; Heinrich calls them “magnets for the future”. Thus, as the mayor says, an entire district has been made fit for the coming decades. That is also the actual goal: the revival of the Geyersberg.
Construction and organization cost around 27 million euros. The municipal share amounts to 13 million euros, the rest comes from funding pots. Olaf Heinrich is particularly proud of one thing: “The city hired 65 locals especially for the state garden show, who take care of ticket sales, for example. These are people who identify with the garden show and know their way around – unique in this form.” He also reveals his favorite place on the site: the forest gardens.
Bärbel Benkenstein-Matschiner guides you there, past the so-called “climbing cloud”. If the Geyersberg isn’t high enough for you, you can use the wooden posts of the climbing frame to climb further into the sky. It is mainly the younger visitors who scramble here. Above there is a climbing wall and an exercise course with balancing beams. Benkenstein-Matschiner demonstrates how it’s done. The air here in the forest gardens is fresh and cool on the skin. A place to relax on hot summer days. An already existing forest has been integrated into the State Garden Show; this also fits in with the concept of sustainability.
In June, some flowers have withered
However, the drought in June was a major problem. “Of course, the flowers withered. We deliberately left some, such as the leeks, so that the tubers in the ground can produce enough juice again,” she explains. That too is sustainable. The coneflowers are currently blooming, mostly in pink and white. If you come in the next two weeks, with a lot of luck you can still admire the roses, which are already blooming for the second time. The insects are happy – bees and bumblebees are buzzing around everywhere and pollinating the diverse flora.
Many visitors from the Czech Republic and Austria also come here at the border triangle. The Czech and Austrian twin towns of Vimperk and Seewalchen am Attersee are represented with their own gardens. An elderly couple is strolling there. “It’s good that not everything is centered on Munich and that the state horticultural show sometimes takes place in another corner of Bavaria,” says the woman and praises the informative explanation boards in particular. The rock garden with the granite blocks, the crystalline forms that allude to the glass art in the region – an attempt to depict the identity of the Bavarian Forest. You can even get married at the State Horticultural Show. Benkenstein-Matschiner’s daughter, for example, said yes up here. And fall in love? You can certainly also get here – at least in the Bavarian Forest.
The state garden show in Freyung runs until October 3rd. Admission is daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the cash desk is manned until 6 p.m. A day ticket for adults costs 16 euros, for children and young people under 18 years of age, entry is free when accompanied by their parents. Bus line 100 runs from Passau to Freyung during the week, and the Ilztalbahn runs on weekends and public holidays. Freyung can be reached by car via the A3, exit Aicha vorm Wald. There are no parking spaces on the Geyersberg. A shuttle bus runs daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every 15 minutes from the bus station in Freyung to the site. The State Garden Show is mostly barrier-free, there is also a senior citizens’ shuttle. Five restaurants offer food and drinks. Workshops and hands-on stations are included in the price. Concerts take place in the village on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. More information at www.lgs2023.de.