Ten years of BUGA: Brandenburg celebrates a sporting journey through time with LauRa!

Ten years of BUGA: Brandenburg celebrates a sporting journey through time with LauRa!

On June 17, 2025, a truly sporting event was celebrated in Brandenburg an der Havel. VfL Brandenburg organized the traditional event “LauRa” for the tenth time, which is linked to the successful Federal Garden Show (Buga) in 2015. The participants covered up to 100 kilometers - running or cycling from Havelberg to Brandenburg an der Havel. The starting shot was fired at 8:00 a.m. at the “House of Rivers,” where Mayor Mathias Bölt warmly bid farewell to the 17-member group.

The “LauRa” participants proudly wore the original Buga shirts from 2015, while a van from the Brandenburg City Sports Association accompanied them in the background. The first stage took the group to Goetheplatz in Rhinow, where a short refreshment break and a group photo at the “Arschbackenbrunnen” were on the agenda. Accompanied by a local guide, the participants enjoyed the beauty of the Havel landscape, past sights such as “Lady Agnes” and the Rathenower Optikpark.

Memories of Buga 2015

Buga 2015, which ended on October 11, 2015, was the first decentralized exhibition of its kind and attracted over 1,050,000 visitors. Under the motto “From cathedral to cathedral – the blue ribbon of the Havel”, spectacular gardens and landscapes were presented for 177 days in Brandenburg an der Havel, Premnitz, Rathenow, Amt Rhinow/Stölln and Havelberg. This brought over 80 kilometers of the Havel river landscape into the spotlight, which resulted in a noticeable improvement in the image of the region, according to Dr. Dietlind Tiemann, chairwoman of the BUGA special purpose association.

Preparations for the Buga took six years. With the support of over 50 horticultural professionals, an exhibition area of ​​53 hectares was designed with more than 3,500,000 plants, trees and shrubs. In Rathenow the main attractions were the vineyard and the optics park, while in Havelberg, in addition to the cathedral district, the “House of Rivers” and the flower hall show particularly stood out. This diversity is also one reason why such events are so important in horticultural history.

Impressions and highlights of “LauRa”

After the first stage, delicious food and refreshing drinks were offered in Rathenow before the group covered the last 34 kilometers from there to Brandenburg an der Havel, accompanied by Lars Heider and Ralph Labuda. Everywhere along the route the participants were warmly welcomed by the local citizens - especially in Premnitz, where the welcome was particularly warm. A final stop at the ice cream parlor in Pritzerbe provided a refreshing break before the group arrived at the Old Town Market in Brandenburg promptly at 6 p.m.

To celebrate their arrival, Sybille Steinhäuser and Johannes Braun from the sports office waited for the athletes with non-alcoholic beer, fresh melon and other drinks. The support vehicle was not used throughout the day, which shows that the event ran smoothly and the impressive number of participants did not result in any breakdowns or medical incidents. Udo Pfeiffer, the chief organizer, thanked all the helpers along the route after the successful event.

The “LauRa” not only combines sporting commitment, but also brings the memory of the Buga 2015 back to life. The idea of ​​the Federal Garden Show is clear: it promotes local identity and showcases the region's greenery. This tradition will continue in the future, as the next Federal Garden Shows are already planned for 2031 in Wuppertal and 2033 in Dresden. Agriculture and gardening are deeply rooted in German history, and BUGA remains an important platform for presenting horticultural art and creative landscape design.

Further information about the Federal Garden Show can be found on the official website Federal Garden Show to find, while historical details and background information about the event Wikipedia can be read. The city of Brandenburg has also published some press releases about “LauRa”, which can be found at städte-brandenburg.de can be accessed.