Botanisk Have

Long live botany!

In 2024, the Botanical Garden celebrates its 150th anniversary at its location on Copenhagen's old fortifications. We will mark this occasion on Saturday, 7th September 2024, with a day dedicated to botany.

Join us as we celebrate the garden and give you the opportunity to experience its plants, history, and the extensive work behind the preservation of the living plant collection. Meet the museum's gardeners, researchers, and educators, and explore the fascinating world of botany and the history of the plant collection from past to present through presentations and activities in the garden on Saturday, 7th September.

The Botanical Garden is a living museum with roots stretching back more than 400 years. Located on Copenhagen's old fortifications, it is the fourth botanical garden in Copenhagen. The garden and the beautiful Victorian Palm House were established between 1872-1874 and opened to the public in the autumn of 1874. Since 2004, the Botanical Garden has been part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark under the University of Copenhagen.

Program

All activities take place continuously throughout the day. There are limited spots for the mini tours, and you can pick up free tickets on the day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mini tours of the Botanical Gardens

Join scientists, botanists or gardeners on guided tours outside in the garden. You can hear about everything from the garden's history, sculptures and plant collection to the garden's future, the everyday routine of the gardeners or how the garden is important for research.

Mini tours behind the scenes

Join a museum staff member on a visit to the historical botanical collection at the Botanical Museum or join the gardeners on a tour to their propagation greenhouses.

Meet a gardener

Join us as the gardeners take you to their own work areas in the garden. Hear specially selected plant stories about the exciting plants they care for and about life as a gardener.

Meet a researcher

Join the researchers on algae hunting, find microlife in the lake and examine it under the microscope. You can also hear about yeast hunting in the Botanical Garden and how it is used in beer brewing and research at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory.

Meet a botanist

Hear about the botanist's life full of plants. You can attend the launch of the podcast 'Planternes stemme' or learn more about the history and use of medicinal plants. We will also have a chat about Danish plants and habitats in the Botanical Garden's Danish quarter, which is currently being laid out this year.

Pop-up exhibition and talks about Danish colonial botany

What are herbariums cultural meanings and colonial pasts? The Danish national herbarium contains 400 years of shared global histories of nature in the form of preserved plants. Hear the team behind 'Field/Work in the Archive' share their historical research and experience a fascinating pop-up exhibition in Danish, English, Tamil and Greenlandic, as well as short expert talks about Danish colonial botany in India, West Africa, the Caribbean and Kalaallit Nunaat.

Help the museum's researchers

Stop by the museum's Citizen Science projects, learn about nature and biodiversity and even help researchers gather knowledge and data about nature.

Botanical workshop for children of all ages

Visit the botanical workshop and get your hands on the ground. Plant your own cuttings, sow your own seeds, make your own herbarium sheet or get up close to flowers and plants in the drawing workshop, where you can make your own botanical drawings or color line drawings.

Quiz along

Are you smart about plants and botany? Try our various botanical quizzes for all ages.

Explore the Botanical Gardens on your own

Experience the garden in a new way with a butterfly poster, bird poster or go hunting for the garden's birthday plants.