LUMAGICA in the Hofgarten: A luminous journey around the world

Es werd scho glei dumper, es werd scho glei Nocht, sings an old Tyrolean winter song. And indeed, to this day it can be relied on that it gets dark remarkably early in winter. And it also gets light so late - some people don't see the sun for months because of all the work they have to do! At this point, therefore, we would like to recommend a seasonal mood lightener, which has recently been shining through Innsbruck's Hofgarten again: In the heart of the city, the LUMAGICA Innsbruck light park takes you on a fairytale journey around the world. But just follow the marmot, it knows the way.

When the new Lichterpark in Innsbruck's Hofgarten opened its doors for the first time last Friday, I was among the impatient ones who could hardly wait. The first sculptures already line the first meters to the small Kulinarium (where the old Hofgarten café once stood). A cowboy greets me, high on horseback, but still unlit, because it is still light and the spectacle will be switched on later. So I still have some time, and already two, three unusually good mulled wines later, Thomas Mark, the man from MK Illuminations, takes the floor, who with LUMAGICA Innsbruck in the Hofgarten is going into the third round this year. And this is new and fresh, because this year the familiar route is reversed. So the mulled wine comes to the last loop at the end, and one leaves the experience with warm hands. Great joy and restrained applause, because we all hold mulled wine.

Then it gets serious, because it's all about the energy balance. Light and lighting are an issue, especially in a light park. In Innsbruck, 100 percent LED technology is used to reduce energy consumption to just 270 kilowatt hours per day (14,000 kWh/52 visiting days). In shillings, this is enough to power 100 hairdressers for an hour's blow-drying or 15 street lamps for a year's lighting at night. Especially in difficult and dark times, one would like to set a bright sign and show the world as a whole - in the middle of small Innsbruck. That's why the walk of lights this time tells a world trip in all colors and facets - not least because it is the first LUMAGICA Innsbruck completely without Covid restrictions. The fixed time periods of the last years are thus history, and you are now allowed to stay as long as you like. Some objects react and change, others you want to experience from many new angles - so more in the middle instead of just through the middle.

In the meantime, it has become really dumper (dark) around us, and just as we grope our way to the start together, thousands and thousands of little stars shine around us and in the entire courtyard garden. Next to me, the cowboy from before suddenly breaks out of the bushes, and a little further on, a white whale rolls onto the gravel path. To make sure you don't get lost in the wide world of the Hofgarten, there is a helpful marmot at every station, who, appropriately enough, always has information in three languages. For example, about the fact that no silver was found in Argentina (from the Latin argentum for silver) or where the rare ice flowers bloom in the Arctic. It goes without saying that a genuine Tyrolean "Lumadschicka" should not be without an "Oachkatzlschwoaf" and is not even signposted a few meters after the start.

After LUMAGICA was to be seen last winter in 23 light parks worldwide, the groundhog has something to report. After seven continents and a seemingly endless photo safari, I find myself in front of the small Kulinarium, where only in the meantime a giant glowing bird of paradise sits in the garden. Because I'm not quite around the corner yet, but already have my camera ready, I still hold a - for me - colorful floating snowflake. Behind me I hear it however at the same time marvel: Jö look, even the Coronavirus! At second glance I have to smile about the flake - for a moment I had forgotten about pandemic, war and crisis. What a light in the dark can't do.

"LUMAGICA: A Luminous Journey Around the World" can be seen daily (except Dec. 24) from 5:30 p.m. at the Innsbruck Hofgarten until Jan. 29, 2023, and there are discounts for beneficiaries and those in need. The travel tickets are available online or directly on site, and there is even a combination ticket with the Swarovski Crystal Worlds.

Photos: cover picture by MK Illumination/Oss, remaining pictures by Chris Weittenhiller