A Guide to the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival

If you like fall foliage, unique events, and pumpkins, the Kürbisausstellung Ludwigsburg  (Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival) is an event that you have to attend!

Ludwigsburg, in Southwestern Germany, hosts the world’s largest pumpkin festival and if you are traveling to Germany during this time it is definitely worth a trip! Ludwigsburg is about 15 km north of Stuttgart and easily accessible by train and bus.

The annual exhibition runs from late August to early November, so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see it.  Tickets are 14 euros at the door.

There are more than 600 varieties of pumpkin on display, and it will challenge your idea of what a pumpkin is!

There is also a competition for the biggest pumpkin in Europe. The winners are on display and they are huge!

For a few euros you can stock up on gourds and pumpkins to take home to eat or decorate your house.  There are also stands where you can buy goodies to take home like pumpkin pasta, pumpkin oil, pumpkin-shaped candy, and items to declare your love of pumpkins. 

There is a theme for the pumpkin statues each year.  In 2023 the theme was fire and in 2024 it was Girl Power.  Some of the statues fit in perfectly and some of them are a bit of a reach, but it’s nice to know that there is a different theme each year.

The event takes place in the baroque gardens of the beautiful Schloss Ludwigsburg, a palace built in the early 1700s.

On weekends there are special activities like pumpkin carving and even a regatta with competitors paddling pumpkin boats!

Of course, this is pumpkin-flavored food available, too! Things like pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie might not be a surprise, but you’re in Germany so there are also pumpkin bratwursts, pumpkin spatzle, and pumpkin prosecco. Plan to enjoy lunch here or at least a snack!

The pumpkin festival has been going on for 25 years and this is truly one event that the whole family will enjoy!