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Royal Herrenhausen Gardens, Hannover

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History

The Royal Gardens at Herrenhausen – the Grosser Garten, the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten (Guelph Garden) - are among the most beautiful gardens in Europe. They exemplify the most important styles of garden design, with a baroque garden in the French style, an English landscaped garden and a botanical garden. Over more than three centuries, this 135 hectare site has grown into a great work of art. The baroque Grosser Garten was begun in 1666. It was laid out in its present form under Electress Sophie of Hannover between 1696 and 1714.
In 1713 she wrote, “Herrenhausen Garden ... so beautiful and well kept ... is the only thing with which we can impress”. Sophie was raised in the Netherlands and was passionate about the impressive baroque gardens created by the House of Orange.
When Sophie moved to Hannover with her husband (later Elector Ernst August) in 1680, she had her summer residence redesigned in the Dutch garden style. The garden created here by the Frenchman Martin Charbonnier was one of the first baroque gardens in Germany: it had a strict symmetry, a sense of harmony and was surrounded by a canal on three sides. Sophie's great passion was her garden and Herrenhausen became a vibrant meeting place for prominent figures in European cultural affairs. After Sophie's death, life at Herrenhausen became less exciting and the Grosser Garten fell into a slumber until the middle of the 19th century, as subsequent owners took little interest in it. This was lucky for Herrenhausen, because whereas by the 18th century many princes were transforming their baroque gardens into landscaped gardens to keep up with changing tastes, the Grosser Garten's baroque design remained intact.
The Berggarten was originally laid out as a kitchen garden - to provide the royal household with fresh fruit and vegetables - on the remains of a sandy hill to the north of the palace in 1666. But Electress Sophie was so fascinated by exotic plants that she set some of her money aside for acquiring new ones, and she devoted more and more of the Berggarten to growing and tending rare species. The garden's first greenhouse was built as early as 1686. The Georgengarten was redesigned as an English landscaped garden in the middle of the 19th century. During the second world war it was used largely for growing vegetables. Extensive renovation work until the middle of the 1950s was required to make the Georgengarten an attractive public park once again. The Herrenhausen Festival attracts music and theatre lovers to the gardens every year.
 
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Virtual tours

Infopass

The Royal Herrenhausen Gardens are open all year round from 9am. The fountains in Grosser Garten park operate from the end of March to the middle of October.

Until 20 March 2021 and from 20 October 2021
• Berggarten and Grosser Garten grotto: €2.00
• Grosser Garten: free
• Children and young people under 14: free

During the season (21 March to 19 October 2021)
• Grosser Garten: €3.00
• Berggarten: €2.00
• Grosser Garten and Berggarten: €4.00
• Grosser Garten and Berggarten: groups of 20+ €3.50 per person
• Children and young people under 14: free