Croak: Sounds by the Water

From August 12 to September 14, 2025, Europaplatz in front of the KKL Luzern will be transformed into a walk-in natural space – right in the heart of the city. In collaboration with Pro Natura Luzern, Lucerne Festival is converting part of the water basin and the surrounding plaza into a pond installation that draws attention to the threatened state of native amphibians.

The installation consists of two parts: an aquatic habitat featuring gravel, boulders, and aquatic plants, and a terrestrial habitat with clay-rich sand, dry stone walls, native plants, wooden structures, and other natural elements. It is being realized in partnership with naturag Gartenbau AG (Malters) and Wildstaudengärtnerei AG (Eschenbach). All materials used are either reusable or will be professionally dismantled and repurposed after the Festival.

An accompanying educational trail leads through the terrestrial habitat and invites you to discover five native amphibian species and their unique calls. At each station, QR codes allow you to listen to the animals' calls – both the original and a musical imitation performed by musicians of the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO). Can you guess all the species and the instruments used to mimic them?

The free, self-guided trail is complemented by public events and participatory workshops for school groups.

In this 50-minute school workshop, classes from grades 1 to 6 playfully and interactively explore the sounds of native frogs and toads. The children imitate amphibian calls using various instruments and collaboratively create a frog and toad concert, which they conduct themselves – right at the “Croak: Sounds by the Water” pond installation on Europaplatz.