Berggarten Show Houses (Herrenhausen Gardens)

In the early 18th century the Berggarten held a large mulberry plantation which, from 1706 and for about a hundred years, supplied silkworms to the royal silk manufactory in Hameln. In the 19th century, under the Wendland family of gardeners, the garden filled with glasshouses, eventually more than twenty, each devoted to a group of plants. In 1849 the court architect Laves built a palm house there which, five years later, held the most valuable and species-rich palm collection in Europe. In 1880 came Richard Auhagen's Great Palm House, a plant palace of glass and iron over 30 metres high, with galleries and fountains. A Victoria house existed from 1906.

The Second World War destroyed all the glasshouses; the Victoria house was lost in 1945. The display garden was rebuilt step by step: the large cactus, tropical and orchid houses date from 1958, the desert houses from 1996-1997. In 2000 a rainforest house under a glass dome, the Regenwaldhaus, took over from the Great Palm House; it later became a Sea Life aquarium. The old Canary Islands house, forty years old and dilapidated, was closed and demolished in 2022. The winning design of the 2019 competition, by SEP Architekten of Hanover, received its permit at the end of March 2022; work began on 13 November 2023. The opening, first announced for the 2025-2026 winter season, was postponed because of problems with a contractor: in May 2026 the main structure was due to start that summer, with completion expected in summer 2028.

The present glasshouses form a group of buildings of varying size. The tropical house of 1958 covers just under 300 m². The cactus and desert houses line the Schmuckhof, the garden's ornamental courtyard; the desert houses are divided into two separate sections, an America house and an Africa house, complemented by stone benches planted with alpine species.

The new complex by SEP Architekten, now under construction, of about 1,300 m² according to the 2023 press release (1,000 m² according to the project page) and at most 9 metres high, is conceived as a crystalline volume in three parts: a south-facing Canary Islands house, an exhibition house for temporary displays with a kiosk, seating and a terrace, and a Victoria house with a heated pool. Inside, a landscape of basalt-lava rocks rises over several levels, with a walk-on rock served by a lift. A 300 m³ cistern collects rainwater, heating comes from the district network, set to draw increasingly on biomass, and ventilation flaps are controlled automatically. The cost, estimated at 13.4 million euros in 2023, is supported in particular by grants from the federal government (1.5 million, through a programme for cultural institutions) and the Hanover Region (1 million).

The orchid house is described as one of the largest permanent orchid displays in Europe: the collection numbers about 25,000 plants, and 500 to 800 orchids are in flower at any time of year. The tropical house gathers hibiscus, African violets, rubber plants and bromeliads. The desert houses grow yuccas, agaves, euphorbias and aloes; the cacti flower in May and June, the African aloes in winter.

The new building answers two needs: the dilapidated old Canary Islands house was far too low, to the point that dragon trees and strawberry trees were literally growing through the ceiling, and the garden wished to bring back the giant water lily Victoria amazonica. The new Canary Islands house is intended for the archipelago's flora from the old building: dragon tree, viper's buglosses, aeoniums, laurels, Canary Island pine and strawberry tree. The Victoria house is to hold the giant water lily and, in winter, an exhibition of exotic butterflies, while the exhibition house will show the garden's collections in turn, such as camellias and citrus.

The Berggarten is one of the Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover; its display houses are grouped around the Schmuckhof. The orchids, in flower all year round, make a visit worthwhile in any season; the cacti flower in May and June and the African aloes in winter; once the new building is finished, exotic butterflies will enliven its Victoria house during the cold season.

The former Regenwaldhaus, now a Sea Life aquarium, recalls the recent history of the garden's glasshouses. The new complex, with its kiosk and terrace, is designed as a place to pause in the middle of the visit; meanwhile the garden is also making its paths accessible to people with reduced mobility.