During the Hannover Messe, visit the Herrenhausen Gardens
The Herrenhausen Gardens (Herrenhäuser Gärten), located in Hannover, are made of four gardens. The Großer Garten is the most important baroque garden in Europe, the Berggarten is a beautiful botanic garden, the Georgengarten is a big open park and the Welfengarten is the garden that surrounds the University of Hannover.
The Herrenhausen Gardens are the most popular tourist attractions in the city of Hannover.
For more details, visit the official website.
The Großer Garten
Your visit starts at the Royal House of Hannover, Schloss Herrenhausen, former summer residence of the royal family. The building was totally destroyed during World War II and rebuilt later, to become a congress center and a museum. It was reopened on 17th of January 2013.
A second building, the orangery that used to be a place where oranges and other fruits trees were protected during the winter (similar to a greenhouse), is now utilized for art exhibits and performances of classical music.
The third building, Gallery and Foyer, is used for musicals and theatrical performances during the summer. It is, for me, the most beautiful building in this complex, as well as its golden gate.
Behind the Schloss Herrenhausen is the Großer Garten, the most important baroque garden in Europe.
The garden, with 50 hectares, offers several attractions, like:
- Fig Garden;
- Grotto by Niki de Saint Phalle;
- Cascade and Flower Garden;
- Orange Parterre;
- Sundial and Great Parterre;
- Maze;
- Bell Fountain;
- Garden Theatre;
- Rehearsal Stage;
- Viewing Terrace;
- Swan Ponds;
- Linden Rows;
- Special Gardens;
- Remains of the Palace Steps;
- Sophie Memorial;
- Great Fountain;
- Pavilion by Remy de la Fosse.
Events in the garden
Summer is the time for festivals in the garden:
- From May until September: KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen
- June: International Firework Competition
- July: Kleines Fest im Großen Garten
- August: Musical from William Shakespeare in Garden Theatre
Plan your visit
Address: Herrenhäuserstraße 4, 30419 Hannover
Opening hours: Daily: 9.00 am - 4.30 pm | The Grotte closes at 4.00 pm | Museum opens Thu to Sun: 11.00 am - 4.00 pm
Admission: Prices information
Contact: +49 511 16834000 | herrenhaeuser-gaerten@hannover-stadt.de | http://www.hannover.de/Herrenhausen
The Berggarten
The Berggarten was created in 1666 as a vegetable garden for the Großer Garten. Later, it became a garden for exotic plants, thanks to Sophia of Hanover, also known as Sophia of the Palatinate. In 1686, a conservatory was erected at the Berggarten.
The place is just magical for garden lovers. The number of different and beautiful plants and flowers is countless. The garden has a library pavilion and is organised in different landscapes, according to the species:
- Ornamental Courtyard;
- Subtropical Courtyard;
- Cactus House;
- Tropical House;
- Orchid House;
- Desert Plants;
- Iris-, Rockery- and Pergola Gardens;
- Canary Isles House and Desert Garden;
- Steppe Garden;
- Ornamental Herbaceous Shrubs;
- Prairie Garden;
- Paradise;
- Rhododendron Grove;
- Moor;
- Heath;
- Wildflower Meadow;
- Herbaceous Grounds.
The mausoleum of King Ernest Augustus I and his wife Queen Frederica is on the back part of the garden.
Plan your visit
Address: Herrenhäuserstraße 4, 30419 Hannover
Opening hours: Daily: 9.00 am - 4.30 pm
Admission: €3.50 | Children up to 12 years old: free
Contact: http://www.berggarten-hannover.de
The Georgengarten
I love this garden. It's an excellent place to hang out, walk the dogs, make sports and make a picnic or a barbecue. During the week, you will see plenty of university students there. I have been there a few times and would love to go more often, if it was closer to my house. This park is open, unlike the Großer Garten and the Berggarten.
In the garden, you will find a lake, the Leibniz Temple (Leibniztempel) and an Obelisk.
The Georgengarten started to be shaped in 1726 when the Herrenhäuser Allee was created. An alley consisting of four rows of lime trees connects Hannover with the royal palace of Herrenhausen. It is about one geographical mile long (1.85 km).
Johann Ludwig, a German lieutenant-general and art collector, bought the area in 1768 and, in 1782, he finished the construction of a palace, Wallmodenschloss, to keep his antiquities collection. By this time, the name of the garden was Wallmodengarten.
In 1817, the garden and the palace were sold to King George III. In the next year, the garden name became Georgengarten and the name of the palace became Georgenpalais.
Now, the palace is used as a caricature museum named Wilhelm-Busch-Museum - Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und kritische Grafik. It features the world's largest collection of Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch works, as well as contemporary comic art, illustrations and drawings.
Plan your visit to the museum
Address: Georgengarten, 30167 Hannover
Opening hours: Tue to Sun: 11.00 am - 6.00 pm | Closed from 24th to 31st of December
Admission: Single: €4.00 | Family: €10.00 | Reduced: €2.50
Contact: mail@karikatur-museum.de | http://www.karikatur-museum.de
The Welfengarten
The Welfengarten is the park that surrounds the Welfenschloss, main building of the Leibniz Universität Hannover.
The castle was built from 1857 to 1866 by the architect Christian Heinrich Tramm under the Kingdom of George V von Hannover. Its beautiful structure was made with yellow-whitish Velpker sandstones, one of the hardest sandstones in Germany. The former castle became the head office of the University in 1879.
Directly in front of the building stands a bronze statue of the "Lower Saxony Steed" (Niedersachsenross) – the heraldic animal found on the coat of arms of Lower Saxony. The horse sculpture, made in 1866 by Friedrich Wilhelm Wolff, is a copy of the horse of the another famous sculpture, the Löwenkämpfergruppe, located at the Altes Museum in Berlin.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover was founded in 1831 by the scholar Karl Karmarsch and has nine faculties. It is one of the oldest and largest universities of science and technology in Germany.
Plan your visit to the university
Address: Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover
Contact: +49 511 7620 | kommunikationuni-hannover.de | http://www.uni-hannover.de/en/
If you know the Herrenhausen Gardens, let us know how do you like it:
Visit also the Sea Life Hannover
A small, but interesting aquarium, The Sea Life Hannover is located at the entrance of the Berggarten. They have turtles, sharks, seahorses, rays, crocodiles, crabs, octopuses and the famous clownfishes (species of the movie Finding Nemo).
As the Aquarium is indoors, your visit will not be affected by the weather. But, you will probably choose a sunny day if you also visit the Herrenhausen Gardens.
It is a great option for families. And you can also make your child's birthday party at the Sea Life, with pirate theme, including treasure hunting. Children under the age of 15 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Shows and feeding demonstrations
You can watch the fishes being fed and learn more about the species on the following times:
- Tropical lagoon – Daily at 11.00 pm
- Ocean – Daily at 12.00 pm and 4.00 pm
- Freshwater Stingray Feed – Daily at 3.00 pm
- Cuba Crocs – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.00 pm
- Piranhas – Sundays at 2.00 pm
Plan your visit
Address: Herrenhäuser Str. 4a, 30419 Hannover (at the Berggarten entrance)
Opening hours: Daily: 10.00 am - 6.30 pm (the closing time Mon to Fri is 5.30 pm from the 10th of November to the 21st of December) | The last admission is 1.5 hours before closing time.
Admission: Buy your ticket online to save 30% on the Sea Life Webpage.
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Love,
Dani Tabalipa
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Read next: 36 things to see during the Messe in Hannover Germany - Part 1
