Ludwigsburg's Pumpkin World: A Day Among Thousands of Pumpkins

For some reason, when you ask people about pumpkins, at best some of them remember a few dishes made from it, at worst they just mention pumpkin seeds.

But for many people it's a whole world. Pumpkins come in an incredible number of varieties and types, and people make huge sculptures out of them because they keep well and come in the widest range of colors. Pumpkin is used not only for soups and main courses, but also for baking, drinks, and even some alcoholic drinks.

To understand all this better, it's worth visiting Ludwigsburg in Germany at least once — to walk around among the pumpkins, look at all the varieties, and try delicious dishes you never even suspected existed.

The Kürbisausstellung in Ludwigsburg

The Kürbisausstellung in Ludwigsburg is a huge autumn pumpkin exhibition in the Blühendes Barock gardens by the Ludwigsburg Residential Palace, not far from Stuttgart. The organizers call it the largest pumpkin exhibition in the world.

Visiting the exhibition gives you the chance not only to see the exhibition itself, but also to walk through the Blühendes Barock gardens and visit the wonderful Ludwigsburg Residential Palace.

Overall it's a great one-day or even two-day trip. It depends on the dates you pick and how much you feel like doing.

History of the pumpkin exhibition

The story didn't start in Germany, but in Switzerland. In 1997 the brothers Martin and Beat Jucker held the first Kürbisausstellung on their Juckerhof farm in Seegräben near Zurich.

In 1998, a German farmer named Jens Eisenmann from the area around Stuttgart did an internship with the Jucker brothers, right during pumpkin season. The idea impressed him so much that he brought it to Germany. Later he helped set up contact between Jucker and the management of the Blühendes Barock gardens. In 2000 the first big Kürbisausstellung took place in Ludwigsburg.

So the exhibition has been held every year in Ludwigsburg since 2000. That's already more than a quarter of a century. The 2026 season is actually the 27th year of the exhibition.

The Kürbisausstellung in 2026

This year the exhibition opened on August 22 and runs until November 1, 2026.

Opening hours:

• August 23 – October 23: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• October 24 – November 2: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The exhibition officially ends November 1, but some of the sculptures stay lit up afterward as part of "Leuchtende Traumpfade" (Illuminated Dream Paths), on display into early December.

What to see

Every year they pick a new theme, and under that theme they build huge figures out of thousands of pumpkins of different varieties, colors and shapes. In 2026 the theme is "LET'S PLAY!" — games and toys. This includes board games and card games, Lego, video game characters, toys and other play-related motifs. Among the announced figures are Super Mario, Lego, a teddy bear, Barbie, and an XXL rocking horse. There are even interactive pumpkin marble runs you can send marbles rolling down — this is the first year they've had these, they didn't exist before.

The structures themselves aren't just a pile of stacked pumpkins. Jucker Farm describes it this way: the base frames are built mainly from wood and straw. Blühendes Barock itself adds that artist Pit Ruge designs the figures partly from wood and partly from metal — the team working on them includes not just woodcarvers but also steel-construction specialists and carpenters. For faces and other details, they sometimes take massive tree trunks and literally carve the shape out with a chainsaw. Only once the frame is ready do they carefully choose the pumpkin varieties and colors for each part of the figure.

Besides the big sculptures, there's the Kürbis-Sortenschau — an exhibition of many unusual pumpkin varieties — and the Kürbis-Schnitzwelt, where international artists are constantly carving new figures. Since carved pumpkins don't last long, this part of the exhibition keeps changing.

Some special days are especially worth catching:

• September 19–20 — Kürbis-Regatta, races on the water in giant hollowed-out pumpkins

• September 26–27 — the making of "Germany's biggest pumpkin soup"

• October 4 — the German championship for growing giant pumpkins

• October 11 — the European championship

• October 18 — a giant pumpkin carving festival

• October 24–25 and 31 — Halloween pumpkin-carving workshops

What to try

At the Kürbisausstellung you can try pumpkin in pretty much every form: pumpkin soup, pumpkin Maultaschen, pumpkin dishes, and even Kürbis-Secco.

This is really a separate part of the program you shouldn't skip. There are food stalls all over the grounds serving pumpkin dishes. For the 2026 season the organizers officially confirm at least the famous pumpkin soup, Swabian pumpkin Maultaschen, and Kürbis-Secco — a sparkling drink with a hint of pumpkin.

Definitely pay attention to these:

• Kürbissuppe — the main classic version. If you're there September 26–27, 2026, they cook "Germany's biggest pumpkin soup": about 555 liters in the pot, roughly 2,000 servings. Part of the money from each serving goes to charity.

• Kürbis-Maultaschen — a dish that really fits this region. Maultaschen are big Swabian "dumplings"/ravioli, and here they're made with a pumpkin filling.

• Kürbis-Secco — an unusual option for adults: a light sparkling drink with pumpkin.

Of course the range is usually much wider. As a rule, the exhibition also sells pumpkin waffles, pumpkin Flammkuchen, pumpkin Bratwurst, Kürbispommes (pumpkin fries), pumpkin rice cooked in a big pan, pumpkin ice cream, and Kürbisschorle. They also sold pumpkin jams and chutneys, pumpkin oil, and roasted pumpkin seeds in flavors from chili to cinnamon sugar.

Useful information

Address:
Blühendes Barock Ludwigsburg
Mömpelgardstraße 28
71640 Ludwigsburg, Germany
Official website: https://www.blueba.de

For the Kürbisausstellung 2026 in Ludwigsburg you don't need a separate ticket for the exhibition. It's included in the entrance ticket for Blühendes Barock park.

Right now, in the main season, the prices are:

Children under 4 go free. At the box office an adult ticket costs €2 more: €15 on weekdays and €16 on weekends/holidays.

The main visitor entrance (Haupteingang) is on the Schorndorfer Straße side — handy to enter into your navigation if you're driving straight there.

Tip Jojo.is...

Both adults and kids really enjoy the exhibition. It combines nicely with seeing the gardens and the Ludwigsburg palace. If you're picking your dates specifically for the spectacle, September 19–20 is a great choice because of the pumpkin regatta, and October 11 because of the European giant-pumpkin championship. These are two different experiences. In September there's more fun and activity, in October there's a chance to see truly huge specimens that are mind-blowing.