The first stop on our German road trip was at the historic palace in Ludwigsburg, just outside of Stuttgart, which offers a beautiful fairytale theme park and stunning garden.
Palace + Fairytale Garden (Blühendes Barock) – Ludwigsburg, Germany
Ludwigsburg Palace is styled after Versailles and one of the largest baroque-era palaces in Europe. While that itself is a great attraction, the 32-hectare palace grounds host the Blühendes Barock, literally the Blooming Baroque, which is a retro theme park that pays homage to some of the most famous German fairytales.
My wife Heidi used to visit when she was a child and wanted to take our children there. Despite over 20 years passing since her last visit, very little has changed, which is part of the charm of this place. In fact, very little has changed since her mother visited as a child. German fairytales like those told by the Grimm Brothers are often quite violent and do not have happy endings. But though politically incorrect, many stories offer a moral lesson worth considering.
Take the famous story of Hansel and Gretel. This one may have a happy ending (the witch is thrown into an oven before she can eat two children, the children find her treasure, and live happily ever after), but there are some heavy themes for a children’s story. We’ve got child abandonment, cannibalism, death, and deceit at play.
And the park has a very scary witch, chanting:
“Knusper, knusper, knäuschen, wer knuspert an meinem Häuschen!”
(which means “crunch, crunch, crunch, who’s crunching at my little house!”)
Yes, this scared Augustine!
But look how beautiful this place is:
And it’s just fun. These silly things like a chair that rises as water squirts around you…something my mother-in-law did as a child, my wife did as a child, and now my children have done too.
Admission is €10.00 for adults, €4.80 for kids 4-15, and free for infants. Metered-parking costs a few Euros. We enjoyed a crêpe on the way out.
CONCLUSION
I love taking my children to places I enjoyed as a kid in Southern California, so it was great to take them to a place my wife (and mother-in-law) both enjoyed when they were kids. Ludwigsburg is a beautiful city and my children are already talking about coming back here. It is a bit kitschy, yet not to be missed if you’re in the Stuttgart area.
This is part of my summer in Germany trip report.
Glad your family enjoyed Ludwigsburg! If your children are a bit older, consider taking them to Tripsdrill, the oldest German wildlife and theme park, still family owned, at over 90 years old, and also near Stuttgart.
Nobody goes to Tripsdrill anymore. It’s too crowded.
That is a very backwards statement! If nobody goes there, it certainly will not be crowded!
I really enjoy Germany. Usually visit in the winter for the Christmas markets. If I was planning to work longer, I’d probably check into getting an assignment over there but my plans are shorter term (maybe one more year).
The way the crepe photo was taken made it look giant sized to me at first glance. Then I saw the hand and realized it wasn’t as big as I first thought.
Haha, I thought the EXACT same thing! 😀
Try the Ritter Sport musem and factory store along with the Museum of Everyday Things in Waldenbuch, just south of Stuttgart.
Germany is a super underrated destination for families.
Have you introduced Augustine to Struwwelpeter? Makes Hansel and Gretel seem tame.
Reading this report takes me back to summer trips to Germany with my father. Thanks for envoking happy memories.
Have you been to Sanssouci in Potsdam? If not, it’s an absolute must. Beautiful surroundings and the walk from the city center with stops at a favorite cafe for Kaffee und Kuchen is the ideal afternoon.