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Keukenhof este unul dintre cele mai frumoase parcuri din Olanda si unul dintre cele mai cunoscute din Europa. Este renumit pentru campurile de lalele din jurul sau si pentru aranjamentele florale de toate genurile si culorile!
------------------------------------------------------------ [History of Keukenhof]
In the 15th century, the area where Keukenhof is now located consisted of woods and dunes. Here game was hunted by the inhabitants of the Teylingen castle, the remains of which can still be seen. From 1401 to 1436 this estate belonged to the Countess of Holland, Jacoba van Beieren. It was her court to sojourn, to hunt and to gather herbs for the castle's kitchen. Hence the name Keukenhof (kitchen garden).
The park which forms the basis of the current Keukenhof was designed in 1840 by the horticultural architects Zochter, father and son. They also designed the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. The beautiful Beukenlaan (Beech Lane) with its majestic trees originates from this period. They are the oldest trees present in the Keukenhof. A lot of attention is paid to the trees in the park. For example, every 5 years a small airplane flies over the park to take infra-red pictures of the trees. This way, all of the trees in the park can be checked to see if they are still healthy.
The flower garden of Keukenhof was started in 1949 at the initiative of the mayor of Lisse at that time, Mr. Lambooy. He did this in cooperation with a dozen of prominent flower bulb growers and exporters from the area surrounding the village. Together they developed the idea for an open-air flower exhibition, in order to be able to show the consumer the wide range of flower bulbs. In the first year Keukenhof was open, more than 236,000 people visited the flower garden. In the past few years this number of annual visitors has grown at an exceptional rate of between 800,000 and 900,000, among them many 'VIPs'. Our own royal family, American president Eisenhower, British queen Elizabeth, and Hillary Clinton have visited the Keukenhof. Together, all these visitors ensure that Keukenhof is one of the top three most photographed sights in the world.
Not only a lot of flora, but also much fauna can be seen in Keukenhof. In addition to the pasture animals, more than 30 different kinds of breeding birds can be found. The swans in the pond are leased annually and return to their owner after the season.
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