Netherlands keukenhof tulip park. Keukenhof Flower Park in Holland. When is the best time to visit Keukenhof

Also known as Garden of Europe. Located almost on the coast between Amsterdam And The Hague in a small the town of Lisse (Dutch. Lisse).

Keukenhof today- this is a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bdelightful spring flowers spread over an area of ​​\u200b\u200b32 hectares, shimmering with all conceivable and inconceivable colors. This is an old park with centuries-old trees and picturesque ponds. All this splendor is complemented by canals, waterfalls and fountains. This is six million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths. And, of course, this is the largest and most beautiful spring garden in Europe. The park was founded in 1949. This place for several decades has become truly the most flowery place in Holland and the most inspiring for tourists from all over the world.

History of Keukenhof, translated from the Dutch meaning "Kitchen Park", is inextricably linked with the name of Countess van Beuren. In the 15th century, the estate of this amazing woman was located on these lands. Here she grew herbs for the court kitchen. A big fan of hunting, in her short 36 years of her life she managed a lot: she changed four husbands, spent time in prison, took part in several wars. In one of the battles, the countess's opponent was her own husband.

The middle of the 17th century for Europe is the time of tulip fever. Dutch tulips exposed to an unknown virus develop an unusual coloration. Market prices have risen sharply. The bulbs were bought up for fabulous prices. It is said that in 1637 one sold bulb could buy an entire estate. Many perspicacious people have amassed fortunes on this.

The laying of the Keukenhof parklands began in 1857. At the same time, the classical principles of English park building were used. The idea of ​​creating a flower park came from flower manufacturers and exporters in 1949. They decided to create a visual display for the flower trade. They began to grow not only tulips, but also daffodils, hyacinths, Japanese sakura - a whole thousand color ornaments.

Part of the exhibition is housed in greenhouses and pavilions named after princes and kings, where only new, unique or outstanding varieties of flowers are shown, which is monitored by a special Keukenhof council.

Every week, the park organizes themed exhibitions of various types of flowers and the art of floriculture.

However, Keukenhof has not always been such a great place. Back in the 15th century, there were forests and dunes here, and these 32 hectares were part of a huge estate around Teilingen Castle - the residence of the Dutch Countess Jacob van Beijeren. The Countess used this part of her estate as a kitchen garden, where she grew exquisite herbs, vegetables and herbs for the castle's own kitchen. This is where the modern name of the park came from, because Keukenhof in Dutch means “kitchen park”.

More than 1.5 million people visit the park every year. As a keepsake, 8 million scarlet, gold, pale pink, lilac, hot lilac, black or snow-white tulips can remain in your photographs. Hyacinths, lilies, orchids, sakura, daffodils, gerberas, roses, crocuses, anthuriums, hippeastrums, azalea and lilacs.

Queen Beatrix of Holland and the entire royal family are among the most loyal fans, so part of the exposition is located in parks and greenhouses named after Dutch princes and kings, where only unique varieties of flowers selected in the Netherlands are exhibited. This is strictly followed by landscape designers of Keukenhof.

In spring, everyone can buy fresh flowers, planting material and flower bulbs in the Keukenhof park. Don't miss the summer market of bulbous plants on April 13-15! You can also order flowers that will be delivered for you in the fall. Representatives of five companies - suppliers of flower products trade in the park. In Keukenhof you can buy souvenirs, numerous postcards and images, take a photo as a keepsake.

Opening hours of Keukenhof Park:

March 22 - May 20, 2012, from 8:00 - 19:30 (admission ticket sales department is open until 18:00)
Entrance fees for 2012:

Adult ticket – 14.50 euro

Adults over 65 years old - 14.50 euro

Child ticket up to 4 - free of charge

Child ticket from 4 – 7.00 euro

In 2020, the Keukenhof National Flower Park in the Netherlands will be open from March 21 to May 10. Here are some tips on how to prepare for a solo trip to Keukenhof in 2020.

Opening hours of the Keukenhof park

The entire season of the Keukenhof park is open from 8.00 to 19.30. Ticket offices close at 18.00. To avoid queues, it is better to buy tickets to Keukenhof online. Tickets are sold with an open date, i.e. You can use them any day.

When is the best time to visit Keukenhof in 2020?

In general, the planting of flowers in the park is organized in such a way that something blooms in it all the time the park is open. If you want to see tulips, then it makes sense to come to Keukenhof in late April - early May. Our daily reports from Keukenhof past years will help you find out what blooms in the park and when

Official weekend in Belarus: from 25 to 28 April and from 1 to 3 May 2020. The working day from Monday, April 27 is transferred to Saturday, April 4, 2020.

Where to stay when traveling to Keukenhof?

How much are tickets to Keukenhof?

What is unusual to do in Keukenhof?

Do you want something completely unforgettable? Order helicopter tour over tulip fields. The cost of the tour is 129 euros per person.

Please note: Helicopter tours are available just a few days for the entire season: April 4, April 11, April 12, April 18, April 25 and April 26, 2020. Limited number of seats. You can clarify the program and book a tour.

See you at the Keukenhof in 2020!

You may also be interested in:

The fastest way is by bus with a transfer in Schiphol. It is possible by train with a change in Sassenheim, and, of course, by car.

Excursions to Keukenhof from Amsterdam sent daily. You can combine a visit to the Keukenhof with a trip to the tulip fields, Zaanse Schans, Volendam.

"Kitchen yard" - this is exactly what the translation of the word "Kukenhof" from the Dutch language sounds like. The words that gave the park its name. There is a simple explanation for how tulip fields are connected to the kitchen and the yard. Back in the 15th century, the land on which Keukenhof is today was owned by Countess Jacob of Bavaria and was completely covered with sand and impenetrable forests. Amidst these harsh lands rose a castle, whose inhabitants fed themselves by hunting and picking berries in the local forest thickets. But the area around the castle became an excellent garden for growing fresh herbs and vegetables, which were served at the count's table. This marked the beginning of the "kitchen yard". Today, ruins remain of the castle, but the name stuck to the place and after several centuries turned into one of the symbols of Holland.

An important stage in the process of turning the count's garden into a real park of flowers was the work on this land by two architects - Jan David Zocher and his son. In 1857, the masters designed and placed here a large garden, implemented in the classic English style. It was he who became the basis on which Keukenhof grew up and acquired its modern look.

And in the middle of the 20th century, something happened that turned the park into a place of attraction for connoisseurs of flowers, beauty and a unique spring atmosphere, and also gave the park the look in which it can be seen today. In 1949, two dozen Dutch flower bulb growers got together and decided to turn Keukenhof into a kind of spring fair to showcase and sell different varieties of tulips. A year later - in 1950 - the updated Keukenhof opened its doors to the first visitors and quickly gained the status of one of the brightest and most beautiful sights in the Netherlands. Soon, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses and other bulbs were added to the tulips, which gave the park new colors and aromas. Despite its cultural value, Keukenhof still continues to function as a meeting place for selling and buying plant bulbs.

How to get there

Price

Adults - 17 euros when buying on the website, 18 euros when buying at the box office, teenagers 14-17 years old - 8 euros, children under 14 years old - free of charge

Working hours

Spring March to May (dates change each year): 8:00 am to 7:30 pm, last entry at 6:00 pm

The Royal Park has at its disposal 32 hectares of land, dotted with 15 kilometers of footpaths and dotted with a huge variety of flowering plants. Every year, about 7 million flower bulbs are planted on its territory, including about 4.5 million tulips of 100 different species, as well as hyacinths, daffodils and other bulbous plants.

The Garden of Europe is located on the hunting grounds of the 15th century, surrounded by the rich meadows of Lisse, which in those distant times served as a source of herbs for the kitchen of the castle of Jacob of Bavaria, Countess of Gennegau. At the same time, a small castle was erected here, which was engaged in the supply of spices to the county. For this reason, this area got its name - Keukenhof, which translates as "kitchen garden". After the death of the countess, the castle and the surrounding lands passed into the hands of wealthy merchants.

The park, which today can be seen on the territory of the royal grounds, along with picturesque untouched forests and dunes, is part of a large estate that once belonged to the owners of Teilingen Castle.
In the 19th century, Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt decided to create a garden in the English landscape style around the castle. Landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who previously distinguished themselves as the authors of the design of the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, were honored to become the developers of the project.

The initiator of the first exhibition, which took place in 1949, was the then burgomaster of the city of Lisse, Mr. Lamboy, and some of the leading suppliers of bulbous flowers. The idea of ​​the event was to create an open-air exhibition area where growers from the Netherlands and from all over Europe could showcase the latest achievements in the field of tulip cultivation to the general public. In addition, this measure would have a positive effect on the Dutch export industry. Today, the Keukenhof Park is visited annually by about 900 thousand tourists from all over the world, and the Netherlands itself has the status of the world's largest exporter of flowers. At the moment, a unique creation of landscape art is considered the property of the Kasteel Keukenhof society.

Keukenhof includes several themed gardens: historical, musical, natural and Japanese.
The historic garden is decorated in true English style. Although it cannot boast of a large area, its appearance makes an indelible impression: like a miniature forest, it has a reservoir surrounded by neatly "overgrown" banks and picturesque meadows. The opening picture could well be mistaken for a creation of nature, created without human intervention, however, ornate flower arrangements reveal the true origin of the local beauties. The musical garden provides its visitors with the opportunity to enjoy beautiful flowering plants accompanied by musical accompaniment. The natural garden immerses you in the atmosphere of an old forest, where centuries-old trees, bushes, bulbous plants and mirror ponds harmoniously combine, which maximizes the feeling of naturalness. The Japanese garden meets all the requirements of Japanese culture - it soothes with the murmur of water and invites you to plunge into the embrace of the philosophy of oriental traditions.

Pedestrian paths, of which there are quite a lot in the park, will lead to numerous garden compositions, which are real works of art.
In addition to numerous lawns strewn with a colorful carpet of tulips of various shades and varieties, Keukenhof has three greenhouses with lilacs, golden daffodils, roses, exquisite orchids and other flowering plants. 24 gardeners of the royal garden are working on the creation of flower miracles.

In the pavilions, periodically replacing each other, there are 30 exhibitions of flowers and plants, including freesias, gerberas, tulips, irises, chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemerias, callas and roses. Here you can also “enlighten yourself” in the field of the latest trends in the world of gardening, learn about modern flower trends and draw creative energy in seven gardens of inspiration.

The park area offers its visitors playgrounds, a specialized bookstore, bike rentals and information centres. Boat trips are organized, allowing you to enjoy the view of the flowering fields around the park. Every weekend, absolutely for all visitors, regardless of their age, various entertainment events are held.

Keukenhof is open to the public for only two months a year - approximately from March 20 to May 20. During this period, the park is open daily from 8.00 to 19.30, including holidays and weekends. The most favorable time for admiring tulips is around mid-April, depending on the weather. At the end of April, the Bloomencorso Bollenstreek flower parade is held in the Garden of Europe - a colorful procession of compositions made up of flowers. In 2014, it will be held on May 3, and the park itself will be open from March 20 to May 18.

Every year in the royal garden there is a special theme, according to which most of the compositions are performed. The theme for 2014 is Holland. It will be illustrated throughout the complex, placing various modern and traditional symbols.

You can get to the Dutch Flower Park by bus from the stations of Haarlem, Leiden, Amsterdam and Schiphol. For those who will travel by private car, at the entrance to the city of Lisse, route signs to Keukenhof are everywhere, so it is unlikely that you will get lost.