120 Years Dortmund Allotment Garden Association 1906 — Anniversary Festival

Allotment Gardens in Dortmund — A Tradition Since 1906

The allotment garden movement emerged in German industrial cities as a response to the cramped conditions of big cities: family tenants received small plots of land where they could grow vegetables, build huts, and find recreation. In Dortmund, the industrial metropolis of the Ruhr area, this movement was particularly strong. The Dortmund Allotment Garden Association 1906 e.V. is one of the oldest associations of its kind in the city — founded in 1906, when Dortmund was still booming from mining and the steel industry.

Clubhouse at Tewaagstraße 13

The clubhouse is located at Tewaagstraße 13 in Dortmund-Mitte — nestled in an allotment garden complex between Westfalenpark and the southern city center. Tenants and their families cultivate their plots here; the clubhouse serves as a meeting point, event venue, and the board's office. For over 120 years, generations of Dortmund residents have found a small, quiet green space next to the big city in this association — "Nature, Community & Tradition", as the association itself puts it.

120th Anniversary Celebration 2026

For its 120th anniversary in 2026, the association invites you to a weekend festival on July 11 and 12. Unlike the weekly club life, the anniversary festival is public — interested parties, neighbours, families, and guests are expressly welcome. The programme combines official ceremonies (opening speech, beer barrel tapping, greetings) with garden tours, live music, and a children's festival on Sunday.

Saturday, July 11 — Festival with Suckling Pig and R.O.C.

The festival will be opened at 12:00 p.m. by Lord Mayor Alexander Kalouti with a traditional beer barrel tapping. From 1:00 p.m., the day's programme begins: garden tours through the association's grounds at 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., plus barbecue specialities and suckling pig on the spit. George Major will open the stage musically at 1:00 p.m. (acoustic solo programme), followed at 3:30 p.m. by the cover band R.O.C. (Right On Cue) — a Dortmund cover band with a pop-rock repertoire. From 6:00 p.m., DJ Olaf will take over with music for dancing, with the programme running until midnight.

Sunday, July 12 — Children's Festival

On Sunday, the focus is on the Children's Festival: From 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., the association offers games, small competitions, face painting, short garden tours for the little ones, and coffee & cake for the parents. A family afternoon that directly demonstrates the tradition of allotment gardens as a family recreation space.

Allotment Gardens Today — A Bridge to Tradition

Anyone visiting the anniversary festival will see not only a club celebration but also a piece of social history of the Ruhr area. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in a large industrial city like Dortmund, the allotment garden has its own function: nature relief alongside urban everyday life, growing one's own fruit and vegetables, intergenerational family care. The 1906 association makes this tradition tangible beyond its anniversary.