Botanical Garden in Copenhagen

I took a large number of photographs on a visit to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here is a look at some of them.

Botanical Garden in Copenhagen

This is an absolute gem in the middle of Copenhagen. It has two cafes and a gift shop. But more importantly even in December, when I visited, there is a marvelous stock of plants and design to wonder at.

The Palm House

The first thing I met as I started to walk along the path was a very active red squirrel. I followed him around trying to get some photographs of him. However, he was never still! As I got to the lakeside, still trying to get a photograph, I looked up. And there was this wonderful view of the Palm House that made me gasp.

Vital Statistics

This is an incredible glasshouse, the largest of the 27 glasshouses they have on the site. It dates from 1874 and is 16 metres tall. Inside it contains a palm dating from 1824. There is a narrow, cast-iron spiral staircase leading to a passageway at the top. The Palm House dominates the view of the garden and is reflected in the ornamental lake as you can see from my image.

Inspired By The Crystal Palace

The benefactor for the creation of the botanical garden was none other than the founder of Carlsberg, J C Jacobsen. Apparently he got his inspiration for the glasshouses from the famous glass building that was erected at Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.  The Crystal Palace was a fabulous piece of Victorian architecture. But unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire in 1936. If you are interested you can read the full story of the Crystal Palace here.

Research, Education and Recreation

The Botanical Garden (in Danish the Botanisk Have) was first established in 1600. But it moved twice before it was ultimately given its current location in 1870. The garden is part of the National History Museum of Denmark which is itself part of the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science. The garden serves for research, educational and recreational purposes. Or in my case wandering around taking loads of photographs! (work and recreation I guess!).

If you want to read more about the Botanical Garden you can do so here.

View my full collection of images from my wonderful visit to Copenhagen here.

This article was originally published in 2016 and was updated and republished on 3 March 2022.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!