Tourist highlight

The Herrenhausen Gardens

Visit Hannover - Obama, Merkel, Cameron, Hollande, Renzi (Photo: Federal Government / Guido Bergmann) — David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, François Hollande and Matteo Renzi

Enjoy the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, featuring the Baroque Great Garden, the Botanical Berggarten, and the English-style Georgengarten.

A remarkable example of European garden design is the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen complex in the state capital of Hannover. The Großer Garten is one of the best-preserved and most significant Baroque gardens in Europe.

Autumnal Herrenhausen

The Grotto in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen

Small illuminated fountain

The Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen at dusk

First floor in the large garden

View of Herrenhausen Palace

Bell fountain with lock

Paradise

First floor in summer

Schmuckhof in summer

Illumination of the bell fountain

First floor with bell fountain

Tropical show house

Aerial view of the Großer Garten in Herrenhausen

The grotto - interior view

Garden theater

The grotto - The blue room

Arne Jacobsen Foyer

Paphiopedilum 'Chants Temple'

The Golden Gate in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.

Magnificent: the Herrenhausen Gallery

An aerial view of the Great Garden with Herrenhausen Palace

The Great Garden seen from the air

Herrenhausen Palace / Herrenhausen Palace

Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen in Autumn

German Museum of Caricature and Drawing

The Grotto in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.

The large garden

The founding of the Großer Garten in 1666 is attributed to Duke Johann Friedrich of Calenberg. However, its further development is owed to a remarkable woman: Sophie of the Palatinate, Electress of Hannover. She had the garden laid out at the end of the 17th century based on French models and made it her life’s work. The result was a masterpiece of Baroque garden art featuring numerous specialty and model gardens, a large fountain, water features, a maze, an open-air theater, various groups of statues, a cascade, a palace, a gallery building, and an 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 the artist Niki de Saint Phalle decorated the grotto in 2002 with pieces of pebbles, glass and mirrors, transforming it into a magical work of art full of color, light and sensuality.

Herrenhausen Palace

Herrenhausen Palace was reopened earlier this year amid international media attention. It had been destroyed during World War II and has now been rebuilt on its original site some 70 years after its destruction. The reconstruction of the former summer residence of the House of Welf is a joint project of the State Capital of Hannover and the Volkswagen Foundation—and restores the architectural focal point of the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.

Today, the Großer Garten is one of Hanover’s main attractions, drawing around half a million visitors each year. The city celebrates this jewel in its crown with garden festivals, theater performances, and the International Fireworks Competition during the summer months.

The Berggarten

North of the Großer Garten lies the Berggarten. Originally a kitchen garden for the court, it was later converted into a botanical display garden. Today, some 11,000 plant species can be admired there. In the greenhouses, visitors can discover not only Europe’s largest orchid collection but also impressive cacti and a magnificent display of flowers all year round. In the center of the Berggarten stands the mausoleum built by Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves, where members of the Hanoverian royal family have found their final resting place.

From downtown Hanover, you can reach the Großer Garten not only by car or tram, but also through the Georgengarten. Designed by court gardener Christian Schaumburg as an ideal landscape modeled on the English style, the Georgengarten stretches to the left and right of the two-kilometer-long avenue of Linden trees and connects the city center with the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. With its clusters of trees, green spaces, vistas, and quiet nooks, the Georgengarten is the perfect complement to the Baroque Grand Garden and Berggarten.