1. The History of the Park

The Cracau Meadow has an extremely varied history. It was originally a 450 hectare large grassland area, situated north of the Cracau district on the eastern side of the river Elbe and stretching to Herrenkrug, an area that has become one of the most beautiful classical parks in Magdeburg over the last century. The meadow was a typical floodplain of the Elbe river and therefore was home to many plants and animals common to such a habitat, including the Elbe beaver.

The meadows are often very moist and it has been discovered that they were therefore used as pasture land by neighbouring farmers as early the Middle Ages. The meadow started its military “carrier” in the mid 19th century. It was first used as a drill ground for recruits to the Prussian pioneers and was developed in 1873 to include a live shooting range. Barrack were also built here at a later date, and these buildings can still be seen today. Infantry barracks were constructed in the 1930s, before the armed forces took full control of the meadow.

The Cracau Meadow was, however, also used for civilian purposes. The clay pits situated on the meadow provided raw material for the resident brickyards, leading to the construction of countryside restaurants and dance halls. 

 

The Cracau Meadows has additionally played host to a number of special events. On the 28th October 1908, the Magdeburg engineer Hans Grade successfully completed the first German engine powered flight here, reaching an impressive “flying altitude” of 8 metres. This led to the traditional use of the meadow as Cracau Airport, which was enthusiastically received by Magdeburg citizens, particularly when the first zeppelin landed there in 1914. In honour of Hans Grade, the first “air hopper”, the “Hans-Grade-Platz” can today be found in the Elbauenpark, situated on the spot where he first enjoyed success.

Sporting activities were also carried out on the Cracau meadow from 1922 until the 1930s. The sports grounds of the football and cricket club “Viktoria” were situated where the main entrance today welcomes visitors into the Elbauenpark.
After the end of the Second World War, the Small Cracau Meadow played a particularly sad role: the location for the ruins of the Magdeburg city centre, which had been destroyed by an air raid on the 16th January 1945. The floodplain of the Elbe river and the drill ground became the “final resting place” for the former Magdeburg: a five metre high expanse of rubble.  

In the years following the Second World War, the Western Group of Red Army/Soviet Army Forces took control of the Meadow. The soldiers did not withdraw from the Cracau Meadow until 1992, when their departure paved the way for recultivation of the area. Nevertheless, a multitude of projectiles and other weapons first had be cleared before work could commence, so that the visitors of today could enjoy uninterrupted sport, leisure and entertainment.

2. The Formation of the Park

The formation of the Elbauenpark dates back to the year 1991, when the Mayor at the time, Dr. Willi Polte, was so impressed by the Rheinauepark in Bonn that he decided to create a similar park in Magdeburg. He envisioned that Magdeburg would host the German Federal Garden Show (BUGA), which would bring attention to the capital of the region of Saxony-Anhalt as one of the greenest cities in Germany.

The Cracau Meadow area, situated on the eastern side of the Elbe river and still home to the Red Army troops at the time, seemed to be the ideal location.

But there was a long way to go to get to the park’s current appearance.
A national competition to design an area close to 500 hectares large was announced in 1992, the results of which were integrated into the planning process for the BUGA 99. The application to host the 25th German Federal Garden Show in 1999 was successful and in 1995 an association was formed to oversee the preparation and execution of the German Federal Garden Show, the BUGA GmbH. The foundations had been laid.

A total area measuring 100 hectares and including the Large and Small Cracau Meadows was going to be transformed into a park. The master planning for this project was handed over to the landscape architects Helmut Ernst, Christoph Heckel and Axel Lohrer. These architects worked in close cooperation with structural design architects, engineers, artists and the BUGA GmbH to implement the BUGA 99 project. Needless to say, many other companies, institutions, associations and individuals also became involved, all seeing the BUGA 1999 as a huge opportunity for Magdeburg and Saxony-Anhalt.

A total of 210 million DM (German Mark) were invested in the creation of a park that offers a mixture of nature, entertainment, sport, art and recreation in close proximity to the city. The main individual projects were the construction of the Millennium Tower and the Lake Stage, as well as the reclamation of the landfill site. Additional projects in the surrounding area, for example the construction of the new Exhibition Centre, water park, Herrenkrug Bridge over the Elbe and University of Applied Sciences, which are all located in close proximity to the park and combine to create an integrated site on the eastern bank of the Elbe river.

Ground-breaking ceremony: 25th August 1996

3. The Elbauenpark Today

365 days of Nature, Art and a Variety of Attractions

The Elbauenpark was created for the German Federal Garden Show in 1999, on an area of land with an area of 90 hectares that had been used for military purposes for the last 100 years. The park is one of the youngest horticultural works of art belonging to the Saxony-Anhalt Garden Dreams group and was awarded second place in the selection of “Germany’s Most Stunning Park” in 2005.

With its variety of landscape gardening and garden art, alongside a diverse range of recreational areas, the Elbauenpark offers something for everyone, whatever your age. Fall under the spell of this wonderful and well-kept park area with its unique landscape gardening. Get close to nature in the themed and rose gardens, European, perennial and paradisiacal areas, on the rhododendron walk and by the seasonal blooms in the borders.

Young and old alike will be entertained by the sport and recreation facilities, such as the skate park, toboggan track, 25 metre high climbing rock and the nature play area „Among the Ramparts”.

With interactive exhibition about 6000 years of science and technology history, it’s no surprise that the Millennium Tower is the park’s main attraction.

During the summer season over 140 events take place in the Elbauenpark, including exciting productions such as the Elbauennight, a light, laser and  fireworks show performed to music, or the hot-air ballooning magic at the traditional Hot Air Balloon Festival, a gathering of hot-air balloon enthusiasts from all over Europe. Other events that should definitely not be missed include the Elbauenpark, Tower, Local Harvest, Dragon and Light Festivals, as well as summer productions like the “Classics in the Park” show on the Lake Stage.

4. Dates and facts

Elbauenpark total area

93 ha

     - Large Meadow

58 ha

     - Small Meadow

35 ha

Water areas

4 ha

Sports and recreation areas

8 ha

Vegetation areas

72 ha

     - Grass   

50,5 ha

     - Wild perennials

19 ha

     - Planted perennials

1,5 ha

     - Shrubs

0,5 ha

     - Seasonal blooms

0,5 ha

Planted trees

approx. 2.600

Roses

approx. 7.000

Rhododendron shrubs

approx. 960

Hedge length

approx. 3.300 m

Length of the former shooting walls

3.500 m

Former landfill site

Height 40 m, 44 ha

Millennium Tower

Height: 60 m

Panoramic Monorail

Length: 3 km

Lake Stage

Capacity: 1600

Parking spaces for cars/coaches

1.500/50

Catering

Capacity: approx. 300

     - Bistro "Am Staudental"

     - Tower Restaurant

     - Rosengarten Café

     - Bistro on the Lake Stage

Ground-breaking ceremony

25.08.1996

5. Flowering Calendar

April – May
Aegean wallflower, magnolia, almond tree, lawn daisy, narcissus, fruit groves, primroses, buttercups, pansy, tulips, forget-me-not, ornamental cherries, ornamental plums, Judas tree.

May - June
General wild perennials, azalea, lilac, chestnut, daisy flowers, rhododendron, meadow flowers, wild roses und shrubs such as iris, peonies, alliums and other ornamental onions.

June - July
Astilbe, hosta, campanula, potted plants, delphinium, roses, sage, coneflower, daylily, grass, wild perennials.

July - August
Astilbe, begonia, dahlia, fuchsia, geranium, potted plants, lobelia, phlox, roses, sage, coneflower, marigold, grass, wild perennials, zinnia, ornamental tobacco.

August - September
Dahlia, honeysuckle, grasses, potted plants, roses, rudbeckia, sunflowers, wild perennials.

 

6. Wild Animals in the Elbauenpark

MAMMALS
- Rare and uninvited, even disliked guests:
wild boar, doe (which can, however, „commonly“ be observed on the former landfill site“).
- “Permanent“ residents, confirmed as breeding in the park:
red fox, stone marten, mink, stoat, weasel, brown hare, hedgehog, mole, common shrew, greater white-toothed shrew, brown rat, water vole, common vole, bank vole, house mouse and yellow-necked mouse.
- “Common“ foraging animals, may breed in the park:
European badger, polecat, pine marten, squirrel (red), long-eared bat, Daubenton’s Bat, pipistrelle.

BIRDS
- “Permanent“ residents, confirmed as breeding in the park:
wood pigeon, pheasant, coot, moorhen, mute swan, mallard, great spotted woodpecker, barn swallow, house martin, carrion crow and hooded crow, magpie, Eurasian jay, starling, nuthatch, great tit, blue tit, marsh tit, long-tailed tit, wren, common treecreeper, short-toed treecreeper, blackbird, song thrush, robin, black redstart, redstart, nightingale, wheatear, blackcap, garden warbler, dunnock, Old World flycatcher, grey silky flycatcher, chiffchaff, skylark, white wagtail, red-backed shrike, house sparrow, tree sparrow, chaffinch.
- “Common“ foraging animals, may breed in the park:
collared dove, green woodpecker, grey-headed woodpecker, black woodpecker, Eurasian wryneck, cuckoo, common swift, golden oriole, European penduline tit, reed warbler, great reed warbler, crested lark, grey wagtail, yellow wagtail, grey shrike, hawfinch, greenfinch, European goldfinch, bullfinch, serlin, linnet, yellowhammer, long-eared owl, tawny owl, common kestrel, common buzzard.
- Foraging animals, do not breed in the park:
common kingfisher, common raven, Bohemian waxwing, mistle thrush, fieldfare, goshawk, Eurasian sparrow hawk, red kite, black kite, grey heron,  white stork, great cormorant, little ringed plover.
- Rare visitors:
common quail (unconfirmed), hoopoe (unconfirmed), osprey, little grebe, greylag goose, common shelduck, Egyptian goose.

REPTILES / AMPHIBIANS
- Confirmed as breeding in park: sand lizard, grass snake, common newt, common toad, common water frog.

FISH
Grass crap (introduced), silver carp (introduced), bighead carp (introduced), common carp, abramis, common roach, common rudd, chub, asp, pike, European perch.

INSECTS (of particular interest)
Comma, peacock, admiral, painted lady, common brimstone, orange tip and  Lycaenidae butterflies, hornet, great diving beetle, stag beetle, rhinoceros beetle summer chafer, rose chafer, great Capricorn beetle.

MOLLUSCS (of particular interest)
Red slug, edible snail, great pond snail


The statements above regarding consistency and/or frequency are compiled from checks carried out on an almost daily basis. Aspects such as season, time of day, and movement and/or migration times, as well as the weather conditions, should be taken into account with each particular species. Issue date: 29/01/2009

Dipl.-Forsting. (qualified forester) Uwe Frömert
Responsible for the Butterfly House, Fallow Deer Enclosure and Green Path Project 

 

7. The Landfill Site

Situated at the eastern end of the Elbauenpark, the Cracau Meadow household waste landfill site was closed in 1993. The recultivation and covering of the landfill site body, which had an area of 44 hectares and was approx. 600 metres wide and 800m long, was required as part of the BUGA park creation project.

A unique feature of the former landfill site is the gas located underneath its surface, which has an estimated volume of approx. 9.0 million m3. The gas is collected and transported by pipeline to a nearby combined heat and power plant, where it is converted into heat energy. 73 gas wells were installed for this purpose, which extend 25 metres into the rubbish heap. The landfill gas is drawn off by over 15,000 metres of pipeline and treated in five 5 collection areas, before being directly piped into the combined heat and power plant by over 4000 metres of transmission pipelines.
This process provides heating for the Nautica Water Park, Exhibition Centre and various buildings in the Elbauenpark.
Calculations have shown that the former landfill site can be used to obtain heat energy for approximately the next 10 years. Once these reserves become depleted, the power plant will be reconverted to natural gas.

The former landfill is home to two special attractions: the 40 metre high vantage point and the toboggan track, which has a length of approx. 420 metres.

8. The Pappelsee and Angersee Lakes

Pappelsee

The Pappelsee lies at the foot of the Large Meadow and can be well-observed from the top of the Elbauenpark’s former landfill site.
Together with its poplar copse, the Pappelsee forms a delightful natural backdrop which comes into its own during events hosted on the Lake Stage.


Angersee
The Angersee can be found on the north side of the Millennium Tower. With a depth of approx. 5 metres and a 16,000 m2 surface, it is the biggest lake in the Elbauenpark. Jagged precipices and various “walls” of heights up to 7 metres form an impressive feature of the lake, with narrow steps between prominent concrete blocks leading directly to quiet and relaxing areas by the water. Additionally, when the winter temperatures are suitable, the lake freezes over, providing a special treat for young and old alike: ice-skating.

Elbauenpark Address

Elbauenpark Magdeburg
Tessenowstrasse 7
39114 Magdeburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)391 5934-50

Company Addresses

MVGM GmbH
Tessenowstrasse 5a
39114 Magdeburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)391 5934-50

NKE GmbH
Tessenowstrasse 5a
39114 Magdeburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)391 5934-50

Advance Ticket Sales

Magdeburg-Ticket
Ernst-Reuter-Allee 12
39104 Magdeburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)391 5334-80
(Day tickets for the Elbauenpark are available at the box offices in the park)

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