🇳🇱Netherlands·Open to the public (renovated in 2012-2013)
Victoriakas (Hortus Botanicus Leiden)
Leiden
- Year
- 1870 · rebuilt 1937
- Style
- Victorian iron-and-glass greenhouse, a 19th-century structure rebuilt in 1937
- Dimensions
- Pool housing giant Victoria water lilies with leaves up to three meters across
« Beneath a cast-iron crown, giant water lilies have reigned since 1870. »
The first Victoria house at the Hortus Botanicus Leiden was built in 1870, literally crowned with a cast-iron ornament, before being replaced by the current structure in 1937. Raised up to escape the shadow of neighboring buildings and maximize sunlight, it has housed the spectacular blooming of the giant Victoria water lilies since 1872, their leaves reaching up to three meters across. It is the warmest spot in the garden, where the flowers, white then pink, release their characteristic pineapple scent for just two nights.
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52.16° N, 4.49° E