2003 World Horticultural Exposition

The International Garden, briefly IGA took place in 2003 in Rostock instead. As the site unused brownfield sites and the rest of the former village Schmarl were near water, selected on the Warnow. This gave the designers the opportunity to create a horticultural exhibition with reference to the water.

Objectives

Tasks in the planning of Rostock IGA were the connection of the built in the same period Warnow Tunnel, the construction of a new exhibition hall with conference building, the integration of the traditional ship as a ship museum in the IGA concept, the re-use as a parking area and the improvement of transport infrastructure in and around Rostock.

Issuing Nations

The following 32 countries were represented with its own gardens at the IGA 2003:

Finances

The construction and design of the IGA site cost 62 million euros, the exhibition center 32 million euros. Funding was provided by the Hanseatic city of Rostock and Mecklenburg -Western Pomerania as well as the federal government. 2.63 million visitors were counted. The IGA in 2003 met expectations in terms of function as a magnet for vacationers and tourists. More than half of all visitors came from Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and one third of them were overnight tourists. Over 50 million Euro additional gross sales thus came to the region. Still, some question mark remained after the 20 -million deficit, which was created by the lack of control of the relevant bodies.

Actions

During the IGA were 275 meetings and congresses with more than 17,000 participants. 32 nations were represented by partially consuming nations gardens. During the IGA 20 nations days were carried out. Attractions and popular among the visitors were the nations posts, the cable car, the floating gardens and the changing, elaborately designed 25 indoor shows in the exhibition hall.

On the IGA Park stages many well-attended performances were offered. We held a total 1361 events at 171 days. Here especially the folk theater Rostock with 50 performances and the NDR, with its open-air events were active.

Willow

A novelty was the place in advance of the construction of the IGA willow dome. He was considered the world's largest living structure. The dome height is 15 meters and the length of the building 52 meters. The Willow was designed by the architect Marcel Kalberer. This also initiated the construction, which began in 2001 and were involved in the approximately 650 volunteers from 13 nations. 50 participants lived in each camp to cut the willow branches to bundle, erect and build the self-supporting structure.

During the IGA Sunday visited an average of 300 visitors, the church services, there were 250 events, including three marriages and six baptisms.

See also: Willow church

Reuse

All significant green spaces and some of the nations gardens have been preserved, the park can be used in public. The accessibility of the fenced area is complicated by the position far outside the city limits and the requirement of payment of entrance money. Events at the IGA - Park - stage and in the Willow Dome will continue. The exhibition hall, however, had in 2009 a sufficient Reusing, so that unfunded maintenance costs, six years after the end of the garden show burdened the city treasury.