Pumpkin Festival at Forst- und Köhlerhof Wiethagen

Autumn Festival at Germany's Oldest Tar Kiln Farm

The Forst- und Köhlerhof Wiethagen is located on the southern edge of the Rostocker Heide within the city limits of Rostock. With its tar kiln operating since 1837, it is the only site of its kind with a fully functional historic kiln in Germany. Once a year in October, the farm opens for the Pumpkin Festival, turning industrial history into a family autumn experience.

Entrance Ticket: A Pumpkin

The concept is charmingly unusual. Children bring a pumpkin as an entrance ticket and carve it on-site — tools and instructions are provided at the farm. Those who wish can go through the witch school with trials, at the end of which they can earn their own witch certificate. In previous festivals, around 200 witch certificates were issued per day — the format works.

What Else Happens at the Farm

• Pumpkin soup from the farm kitchen
• Grill buffet and hearty specialties
• Campfire with stick bread
• Textile artisans (wool dyeing)
• Woodcarvers at work
• Sociable farm atmosphere in an autumnal mood

A Farm with Two Seasonal Highlights

Besides the Pumpkin Festival, the farm is primarily known for the large Rostock Forest Day in early September — together, these two dates make Wiethagen one of the most important nature-oriented family destinations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Throughout the year, the farm also hosts fairy tale forest tours, sculpture park walks, and demonstrations of the traditional tar-making (Köhlerei) process.

In the Rostocker Heide

Wiethagen has belonged to the Hanseatic city of Rostock since 1924. The Köhlerhof is nestled in the Rostocker Heide, one of the largest contiguous forest areas on the German Baltic coast and a popular excursion destination between Rostock, Graal-Müritz, and the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula.