Hortus botanicus

Hidden behind the Academy Building on the Rapenburg lies the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands and one of the oldest gardens in the world. Founded in 1590 and expanded in the following centuries, the Hortus is the green heart of Leiden.

This is where Carolus Clusius cultivated the first large tulip collections of Europa andwhere Philipp Franz von Sieboled introduced approximately 700 previously unknown plants from Japan and China. Visitors can go here for a relaxing walk; researchers from all over the world come here to study the renowned collection of the Hortus.

This website focuses on the research and education that is being conducted at the Hortus botanicus as part of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University.

Visitor information can be found at www.hortusleiden.nl/en.