Europe's Rose Garden, Rose garden in Zweibrücken, Germany

Europe's Rose Garden in Zweibrücken covers more than 5 hectares and holds over 50,000 roses of more than 2,000 varieties. Landscape architect Philipp Siesmayer planned it shortly before World War I; from 1956 Oskar Scheerer gave the park its present form. A lake of about 1 hectare, fed by the Saarlandstraße dam, lies within the grounds.

The garden opened on 20 June 1914 for the Rosenkongress, inaugurated by Princess Hildegard of Bavaria; breeder Peter Lambert presented a cream-yellow tea hybrid named after her. After the war and economic crisis, Lambert was recalled in 1923 to rebuild the rose stock, and the city launched the Rose Week in 1927. The rose congress met here in 1931, planting over 3,000 varieties; the garden became municipal property in 1950, and Oskar Scheerer reshaped it from 1956.

The garden's name recalls the 1914 rose congress, when Princess Hildegard of Bavaria opened the park and Peter Lambert named a cream-yellow tea hybrid after her. Since 1927 a Rose Week has been held, and the rose congress returned in 1931 with over 3,000 varieties planted. Today the Zweibrücker Rosentage take place on the third weekend of June, alongside open-air concerts from May to September.

Visitors find well-maintained paths throughout the garden, and information stations provide details about rose care and cultivation. It helps to wear comfortable shoes and allow time to explore at your own pace.

Since 2012 the garden has been managed organically, the first rose garden in Germany to do so. New rose introductions are only kept if they thrive without pesticides and with little extra watering in dry summers, and the plantings of perennials, grasses and bulbs are chosen to reduce the gardener's work.