Planten un Blomen

The park occupies part of the ring of seventeenth-century fortifications that once enclosed Hamburg, cleared in the nineteenth century and laid out as green space; the name is Low German for plants and flowers, and the first planting on the old walls was a plane tree of 1821, still standing by the Dammtor entrance. It holds the largest Japanese garden in Europe designed by a Japanese landscape architect, a tropical greenhouse complex and a large rose garden. From May to early September the Wasserlichtkonzerte are staged nightly on the lake, water jets choreographed to music with coloured lighting, free to watch from the banks, a tradition running since 1953.

History

After Hamburg's old fortifications were removed early in the 1800s, a green belt took their place, and the first planting was a plane tree set by Johann Georg Christian Lehmann in November 1821, which still stands by the Dammtor entrance. The area also held a zoo and a cemetery, which had to be cleared, the modern park was laid out in 1933, and the International Horticultural Shows of 1953 and 1973 were held here (Wikipedia, Planten un Blomen).

What you'll find

• The water light concerts - nightly choreographed fountains from May to September.
• The Japanese garden - the largest of its kind in Europe.
• The greenhouses - tropical and subtropical houses open year-round.
• The old fortification line - a park on the ring of demolished walls.

When to go

May to early September for the evening water concerts, staged at dusk and free. The greenhouses and gardens are open year-round with shorter winter hours.

Things to know

The water concerts run only in season and are cancelled in storms. The park is a city park, busy at lunchtime and on weekends. Some sections are ticketed.

Nearby

The Alster lakes lie east; St Pauli is south.

Key facts