Places of interest / OLGA Park

In 1999, Oberhausen started to blossom once again! Oberhausens Landesgartenschau (OLGA) or Regional Garden Show took place from 1 May through 3 October of 1999 at the site of the former Osterfeld colliery and coking plant. There, visitors had the opportunity to explore a large flower festival arranged in 17 theme gardens and enjoy a play that lasted 156 days with performers, artists, buskers and four large park festivals based on the elements air, water, earth and fire. On 1 August 1999, Oberhausen celebrated the 125th anniversary of its town charter within the framework of the park festival dedicated to the element “earth”. The “Neue Gärten Oberhausen” or New Gardens of Oberhausen was the last large-scale park project of the Internationale Bauausstellung (International Exhibition of Architecture and Construction) in Emscher Landschaftspark that extends from Duisburg to Hamm. In addition to that, another former industrial site that was closed to the public for many years was redeveloped at Oberhausen’s Neue Mitte next to CentrO. Neighbourhoods that had been separated for decades due to the heavy industry were reunited once again by OLGA with its interesting bridges and overpasses, encouraging any and all to take an exciting stroll over the autobahn A42, the Emscher and the Rhine-Herne Canal through to the Gasometer and CentrO. Although the former premises of the Osterfeld colliery and coking plant make up the core area of OLGA, the overall project extended far beyond their boundaries. For instance, the “Osterfelder Kessel” or the ”boiler” is as much a part of the complex as the area around the Gasometer, the bank of the canal and the strips between the autobahn and Emscher Park. The sites were linked with existing green areas located in Oberhausen’s city centre like the Kaisergarten and the public Volksgolfplatz Jacobi (golf course) as well as the so-called Regional Green Belts A and B and are an integral part of the Emscher Park. The gate houses, the winding tower and the house of the miners' foremen still stand on the premises of the Regional Garden Show as witnesses to the region's industrial heritage.