The origins of the project

The idea of a network of themed gardens arose at the suggestion of Hella Kreiselmeyer and the CEB (Christliche Erwachsenenbildung – Fortbildungswerk), an organisation for further education and vocational integration based in the Merzig-Wadern district. In its search for partners, the CEB contacted the General Council of the Moselle department via the district as part of cross-border cooperation. The President of the General Council, Philippe Leroy, expressed an interest in the project and commissioned a feasibility study from the consultancy firm ‘Prospective et Patrimoine’. In view of the study’s positive findings, the General Council of the Moselle Department decided in early 1998 to proceed with the project.

1998 The European Union approved funding for the “Gardens Without Borders” project under the Interreg II programme. Other key financial partners included the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Federal Employment Agency.
In early 1999, the General Council of the Moselle Department, together with the department’s tourist board (Moselle Tourisme), contacted the managers of the 10 cultural sites identified in the study by “Prospective et Patrimoine” as suitable for gardens of this kind.
Two of them immediately expressed interest in the project: the town of Bitche and Pange Castle. For its part, the district of Merzig-Wadern initiated the first work on the German gardens via the CEB. This was carried out by staff from BeQu (the Employment and Training Agency of the Merzig-Wadern District) and the CEB as part of a vocational training and integration programme.
In autumn 1999, the network’s first garden opened its gates to the public. It was the Baroque garden in Nell Park in Perl, Germany.
Since then, the network has continued to develop: by the end of 2009, 25 gardens will be open to visitors, with the opening of the last two sites marking the completion of the development phase of a new tourist attraction that has taken over 10 years.