Egapark, Horticultural exhibition park in Erfurt, Germany
Egapark covers 36 hectares on the Cyriaksberg, a hill rising to 265 metres in south-west Erfurt. Its centrepiece is a long rectangular pool with a square stone basin in the foreground, from which three white jets rise, the middle one tallest; two thinner jets spray further back, and a bridge crosses the water before a domed stone building. The grounds also hold exhibition halls, plant houses, the Karl-Foerster perennial garden, a Japanese garden and a 6,000-square-metre flower bed.
The site began as the Cyriaksburg fortress; after 1871 its military role ended, and from summer 1885 the Erfurter Verschönerungsverein laid out paths, plantings and benches on the adjoining slope. Erfurt bought the whole Cyriaksberg on 24 April 1924 for 200,000 gold marks and opened a 13.2-hectare public park in May 1928. From 23 April to 15 October 1961 the first IGA horticultural exhibition was held here, and the grounds have drawn over 45 million visitors since.
The name comes from the International Horticultural Exhibition of 1961 and draws visitors who want to experience gardening culture firsthand. People walk between flowers and artworks here, while gardeners demonstrate their craftsmanship on hedges and garden beds.
The park is accessible from several entrances with marked paths for walking through different areas. A children's area called GärtnerReich, exhibition halls, and seasonal flower markets make visits interesting for families.
The garden holds the only horticultural museum in Thuringia, and since 2024 it also includes the Denkort Bücherverbrennung 1933, a memorial site to the 1933 book burning, where workshops are held. The park is credited to landscape architect Reinhold Lingner and has been a listed monument since 1992.
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