Found opposite the Prado museum in the midst of the city the botanical gardens are open all year. One of the finest gardens in Spain, it began as the King’s botanical collection in the 18th century when gardening had become a fashionable hobby for a king.
Fernando VI ordered the construction of the Royal gardens on 17th October, 1755 on the shores of the Manzanares River. The collection started with over 2,000 plants, collected by Jose Quer, a botanist and surgeon, who collected them on his journeys around the mainland of Spain, as well as swapping some ot the specimens with other European botanists.
Some time after 1774 Carlos III ordered the move of the complex to the Paseo del Prado where it was opened in 1781 and still remains today.
Since it’s creation the Royal Botanical Gardens has become an important teaching centre for botany, and many expeditions were sent out from here to the Americas and the Pacific. The gardens increased steadily until the War of Independence in 1808 which started a period of abandonment.
Work was resumed in 1857 with Mariano de la Paz Graells as the new director who brought about the renovation work that we can see today. Some new greenhouses and main terraces were added in his time as director Mariano and also a zoo, which was later moved to Jardin del Buen Retiro.
Between the years 1880 and 1890 the Gardens suffered some large losses. In 1882, two hectares were claimed by the state to build what is now houses the Ministry of Agriculture. This reduced its area to eight hectares and then in 1886 a cyclone tore down 564 of the old and valuable trees in the gardens.
The early part of 19th century saw it become an important base of botany and scientific investigation and in 1942 it was granted the status of Jardin Artistico.
In 1974 it’s gates closed once more to the public for major long-term works. It was re-opened in 1981 with a larger emphasis on it being a public garden rather than a scientific collection, and while it may not be as famous as Kew Garden in the U.K it’s a beautiful garden, well worth a look on your visit to Madrid.
The gardens charge an entry fee to help maintain these lovely gardens and also to insure that only those people that will respect the plants and the ongoing work needed to produce such fine grounds enter the complex.
Madrid Botanical Garden, Plaza de Murillo 2, Madrid, Spain
