Wilhelma

King Wilhelm I of Württemberg had this built between 1842 and 1853 as a private garden and bathing pavilion in Moorish revival style, with horseshoe arches, coloured tilework and glasshouses, after mineral springs were found on the site. It opened to the public as a botanical garden in 1919, and animals were added from 1949, beginning with an aquarium, so it developed into a combined zoological and botanical garden, the only institution in Germany run as both. The magnolia grove of the 1840s is one of the largest north of the Alps, and the collections include an Amazon house, a large ape facility and one of Europe's biggest orchid holdings under glass.

History

The site lay near the mineral springs of the Rosenstein estate, where King William I of Württemberg planned a royal bathhouse in the Moorish style of the Alhambra; Ludwig von Zanth was hired in 1837, the first buildings were finished in 1842 and given the name Wilhelma, and in 1846 the marriage of the future Charles I and Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was celebrated here. After the king's abdication in 1918 the garden passed to the state, opened to the public as a botanical garden in 1919, and hosted the Reich garden show of 1939; it reopened in 1949 with an aquarium, and from 1950 bird and animal exhibits turned it into a zoological and botanical garden (Wikipedia, Wilhelma).

The main sights

• The Moorish buildings - horseshoe arches and tilework from the 1840s.
• The magnolia grove - one of the largest such plantings north of the Alps.
• The glasshouses - orchids, Amazon plants and historic palm houses.
• The combined collection - zoo and botanic garden in one institution.

When to go

April to October; magnolias flower in late March and April, which is the single best week. Summer weekends are crowded. It stays open through winter with shorter hours.

Before you go

The magnolia flowering lasts about two weeks and is heavily visited. Some historic buildings are under restoration. Summer queues at the entrance are long.

Nearby

The Mercedes museum lies east; central Stuttgart is southwest.

Key facts