Welcome to Wonderland GardenFantasy!
OPEN DAILY
March to October
Mon to Sat: 9 am to 6 pm
Sun & public holidays: 10 am to 5 pm
Advent Magic
2 November - 22 December
Mon to Sat: 11:30 am to 7 pm
Tucked in between vineyards – harmoniously embedded in the gentle hills of Schiltern near Langenlois – lies one of Austria’s most beautiful garden attractions, created for garden lovers with artisan pride and passion by Reinhard Kittenberger, his family and his team. The imaginatively designed show gardens inspire days out in the country and awaken garden joy.
The Kittenberger discovery gardens currently include 40 equally imaginative, lovingly designed themes as well as a large, bright restaurant and a well-stocked shop offering a wide range of plants and garden accessories. The next generation is well planned for – our gardens are expanded every year with something new!
From the beginning of spring through Christmas, our visitors great and small stroll – literally – from one garden isle to another, from one fantastic realm to the next, accompanied by delicious scents and the sound of water bubbling from wells and ponds. In the Wonderland Garden.Fantasy, Asia borders on vineyards, Portuguese fire art meets Celtic powers, from the rainbow the trip continues merrily to the steppe and from the giant slide to the raft.
Herbs spiral up a hill to appear on two paths that never meet. Figures and sculptures surprise at every turn; alpacas, ponies and goats greet in passing; benches and loungers fitted with cushions invite visitors to linger and contemplate. Reinhard Kittenberger and his team are ever present, subtly and skillfully implementing fresh ideas for the wellbeing of plants, animals and visitors.
And as you sit or stroll around, enchanted by so much magic, it could easily happen that the spark of garden joy ignites you, or you suddenly come across that long-sought idea for your own garden dream. Deeply rooted enthusiasm and flowering fantasies captivate in wondrous ways. You leave enlivened and inspired, only to return when other plants are in flower, a new garden beckons, concerts sound or – as during Advent – 400.000 lights illuminate the scenes.
Come and start your journey through the gardens.
Let the garden tour begin!
The first path takes you through our Discovery.Garden Center. After an exciting time in our gardens, you can shop here to your heart’s content. The plants and accessories in the Discovery.Garden Center are personally selected by our gardeners according to best quality and the latest trends.
After that, the path leads you to our self-service garden restaurant. Here we prepare seasonal daily specials for you, ranging from spicy pasta to delicious grilled fish and meats in an open-view kitchen.
Crispy salads from the salad buffet will wet your appetite for more, and sweet delights such as poppy-seed cake, apple strudel and Italian ice cream perfectly finish off the culinary experience.
And now it really starts! Let’s embark on the journey together!
Formal Gardens
The first gardens are the so-called formal gardens. (They’re also the oldest part.) They begin with the Asia.Garden, characterized by sublime shapes, graceful beauty and simplicity, culminating in a 4-meter-high Buddha statue radiating peace and harmony. Next, the Tuscany Garden lures you into warmer regions. Beautifully planted, with palms and olive trees that make you wish for more! By the way, the olive tree to the right of the Tuscany Garden is over 150 years old!
Right opposite is the rustic mountain garden with an old stone hut. Maximum garden, minimum maintenance! "Cultivated wilderness" calls for a short rest, to linger and tune into nature. Next, we continue on to the Health Water Garden. Our oldest swimming pond is the original shape of all swimming ponds. Its soft, wholesome water, clear to the bottom, and generous size makes it one of the most popular swimming ponds. Take your shoes off and walk on the water path to enjoy wet refreshment, a soothing massage of the stones, and the revitalizing feeling.
The Rose Garden consists of 3 artistic main features laid out in same-sized circles: the music pavilion, the crown fountain and the sunken garden.
Harmoniously winding paths made from English bricks connect these design features. More than 1,000 roses and more than 100 rose varieties and many rose companions explode in showy blossoms and colors in May and June, and again in August and September. The linden trellis is a romantic leafy pergola whose function is to protect the blossoms from wind. The whole garden, however, was purposely planted in a windy spot to prevent leaf disease caused by excess humidity. The roses – queen of flowers – speak for themselves in this garden.
The Wine Garden is a special highlight:
Experience how wine was made in the 60’s and how vine growers today produce the precious liquid. The idyllic flower and herb gardens are real eye-catchers, and the hens – true to old tradition – play an important role in the vineyard. The different vines represent a small selection of the many types of wine. You can taste their divine drops here every weekend.
Pleasure Gardens
Another area is dedicated to the Pleasure Gardens. Concerts and other events regularly take place at the Garden.Arena. Right next to it you can find our Manager Garden. The Garden Train circles here throuth our Rock Garden.
A tip for you: The castle of Schiltern (3 minutes by car) is the home Model Train World Schiltern. You will experience hundreds of trains, in the dimention 1:87 tousands of figures and landscapes of Lower Austria and its neighboring states. The large Adventure.Garden with its Garden is an absolute highlight for the whole family. It includes the Adrenalin Slide Tower with 2 XXL slides; the Pixy.Garden for our youngest visitors, fun in the water on the rafts, a skill-testing obstacle course, and much, much more! The fun begins in the Animal Garden. Our alpacas, pygmy goats, rabbits & co are looking forward to meeting you.
And you absolutely have to go up the world’s largest herb spiral, to see the breathtaking view of the gardens below and the idyllic wine and garden town of Schiltern.
As you ascend, the herbs introduce themselves one by one from A-Z. Going down, you’ll take the "aches & pains" trail, which will give you practical tips on all the things you can do with herbs to stay fit and healthy. So hit the trail – it’s worth it!
The Garden of Desire is a further true masterpiece of garden art. It was planted with thousands of colorfully blooming shrubs and flowers. This play of colors, the harmoniously positioned granite blocks, the bubbling of the brook and the magical pond are like balsam for the soul, creating a space in which all cares and worries can briefly be forgotten.
Now we come to our Gardens of Delight. There’s the Gnomes.Garden, a maze in which the gnomes will tell you the most hair-raising, amazing tales. Be careful to find your way out again in time! This is followed by the Fitness Garden where you can do a fitness check and a bit of a workout in the pure country air.
Life Gardens
Very important sections are our Life Gardens, gardens we would love to have at home, too. Among these are, first and foremost, the Family Garden with vegetable/kitchen area, a children’s playground, a tranquil retreat just for two, a beautiful swimming pond and plenty of space for spending time with friends and family.
The Summer Garden and garden studio, the new Garden Time - a special garden that allows you to forget time and just injoy, the Nanogarden (this pond will fit in every garden!) and the Wellness Garden.
Reinhard Kittenberger started living his dream 40 years ago here in Schiltern, designing gardens to delight visitors. We hope that this spark of enthusiasm has also caught on with you and that you will have a wonderful stay in our Wonderland of Garden Fantasy!
Our tip: In our Discovery Gardens, every season has its own special charm!