News

Tourists from around the world will be flocking to Germany for the Federal Garden Show 2007.

However, the luscious grass and seemingly endless fields hold a dark secret and the contrast between its use now and what it was used for during the Cold War could not be starker.

Ronneburg, in the east of Germany, is now a picture of beauty but was once home to a huge 2km hole where uranium was mined, reports the Times.

The dangerous material was taken from the region and ferried to the Soviet Union, with local rivers becoming contaminated and many miners dying in what became known as the Valley of Death.

Since then, the area has been cleaned up somewhat and is now regarded as a safe area in which to allow people to go about their business and a garden show to take place.

'There is no heightened risk entailed in visiting the gardens,' said the Darmstadt Institute of Ecology.

'The radiation is not higher than that in other regions of Germany and is equivalent to the natural uranium traces found in normal soil.'

So the Federal Garden Show has been given the go-ahead and there is plenty to see. Prize roses, flowering shrubs, yellow broom bushes, red tulips and trees aplenty will be on display in their thousands.

There are also a number of art works spread out across the fields some of which, such as the blue sheep installation, may be a nod to the region's past.

Fancy going to this event? Use Opodo's travel search engine to find flights and hotels for your stay.

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