The Herrenhausen Gardens are among the most important and best-preserved Baroque gardens in Europe. The ensemble of Herrenhausen Gardens in the state capital of Hanover is a remarkable example of European garden design. The Great Garden is one of the best-preserved and most important baroque gardens in Europe. In 2015, the Herrenhausen Gardens were awarded the European Garden Prize!
The Great Garden
The Great Garden was founded in 1666 by the Duke of Calenberg, Johann Friedrich. However, it owes its further development to a remarkable woman: Sophie of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover. She had the garden laid out at the end of the 17th century based on the French model and made it her life's work. The result was a masterpiece of Baroque garden art with many special and model gardens, a large fountain, water features, maze, open-air theater, various groups of figures, cascade, palace, gallery building and orangery.
The Great Garden also includes the grotto, which was built in the 18th century and decorated with shells, crystals, glass and minerals to provide a cool retreat in summer. These decorations were lost until 2002, when the artist Niki de Saint Phalle decorated the grotto with pieces of pebbles, glass and mirrors, transforming it into a magical work of art full of color, light and sensuality.
Today, the Great Garden is one of Hanover's attractions and attracts around half a million visitors every year. The city celebrates its jewel with garden festivals, theater performances and the International Fireworks Competition in the summer months.
The Berggarten
The Berggarten is located to the north of the Great Garden. Originally a kitchen garden for the court society, it was later converted into a botanical show garden. Today, around 11,000 plant species can be admired there. In the show houses, you can discover not only the largest orchid collection in Europe, but also impressive cacti and a magnificent display of flowers all year round. In the middle of the Berggarten is the mausoleum built by Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves, where members of the Hanoverian royal family were laid to rest.
The Georgengarten
You can get from Hanover city center to the Great Garden not only by car or streetcar, but also through the Georgengarten. The ideal landscape, designed by court garden inspector Christian Schaumburg in the English style, stretches to the left and right of the two-kilometre-long Lindenallee and connects the city center and the Herrenhausen Gardens. With its groups of trees, green spaces, vistas and quiet corners, the Georgengarten is the perfect complement to the baroque Great Garden and Berggarten.
Herrenhausen Palace - conference center and museum
Herrenhausen Palace was reopened in 2013. It had been destroyed in the Second World War and was rebuilt on its former site around 70 years after its destruction. The reconstruction of the former summer residence of the Guelphs is a joint project of the state capital of Hanover and the Volkswagen Foundation - and gives the gardens back their architectural point of reference. The palace is home to a conference center for the highest standards and a museum.
