Berlin International Green Week (german: Internationale Grüne Woche Berlin), also called simply Green Week, is an important international trade fair held annually in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, for processors and marketers in agriculture, horticulture and various food industries. Green Week traditionally takes place at the beginning of the year in the

Messe Berlin Messe Berlin (') are exhibition grounds in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf precinct of Berlin, Germany, at Masurenallee opposite the Haus des Rundfunks. Since 2011, they have officially been known as "Berlin ExpoCenter City" and operated by the M ...

exhibition halls under the

Funkturm The Berliner Funkturm or Funkturm Berlin (Berlin Radio Tower) is a former broadcasting tower in Berlin. Constructed between 1924 and 1926 to designs by the architect Heinrich Straumer, it was inaugurated on 3 September 1926, on the occasion of ...

and is open to the general public. In 2010 it had around 400,000 visitors. That same year, the

Paris International Agricultural Show The Paris International Agricultural Show (french: Salon International de l'Agriculture, italic=no, or SIA) is an annual agricultural show and trade fair, that takes place at the end of February or beginning of March at the Paris expo Porte de ...

(french: Salon International de l'Agriculture) had 650,000 visitors. , the fair is accompanied by protests themed ''

We are fed up We are fed up! (''Wir haben es satt!'') is the theme of a series of demonstrations in Germany against industrial livestock production and for more sustainable farming. The biggest demonstrations take place every year in Berlin since 2011 and at ...

!''. Between 15,000 and 30,000 people demonstrate against industrial livestock production and for more sustainable farming.

History

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-09139, Berlin, Geflügelzüchter bei der Grünen Woche

The first green week (not yet "international") was held from 20 to 28 February 1926, when an employee at the Berlin Tourism Office had the idea to combine the traditional winter meeting of the

German Agricultural Society The German Agricultural Society (''Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft''), commonly known as DLG, is an international non-profit organisation for agricultural industry in Germany. DLG was founded in 1885 by Max Eyth, has over 23,000 members as of ...

with an agricultural exhibition as a secondary showcase for fair participants. Green Week owes its name to the green felt coats (german: Lodenmäntel) worn by German foresters and farmers. In the first year, there were 50,000 visitors and the fair had covered an area of 7,000 m². Green Week took place every year until 1939, with the exception of 1938 because of an outbreak of European

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

. After the devastation of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Green Week resumed in 1948. After a break in 1951 due to major postwar construction, the fair was held again in 1951 and every year since. Participation of foreign exhibitors increased continuously: by 1963 they accounted two-thirds of exhibitors. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in the 1990s, Green Week grew substantially. Special shows on topics such as "German Cheese" and since 2005 a technical program of over 250 lectures, seminars and symposia round off the exhibition.

References

External links

Official Website

{{Coord, 52, 30, 18.2, N, 13, 16, 41.45, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BE, display=title Annual events in Berlin Trade fairs in Germany Agricultural shows Recurring events established in 1926

History

See also

References

External links