Nederland - Botanische Tuinen Universiteit Utrecht

The Botanische Tuinen Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht University Botanic Gardens) are the largest academic botanical garden - with a size of about 10 hectare - in the Netherlands. The garden is located on Utrecht Science Park and surrounded by (modern) buildings of the university.

The botanic garden has a spectacular setting including a large rock garden built on the bunkers of an old fort. It has a collection of around 10.000 plant species.

The Botanic Gardens originate back to 1639, when the first botanical garden for medicinal purposes was founded in the city centre of Utrecht. In 1963 it came to the current location at Fort Hoofddijk, once part of the New Dutch Waterline. Between 1964 and 1974, over 2.100 tons of Ardennes rock created one of Europe’s largest rock gardens on and around the fort.