National Garden, Athens

The National Garden ( Ethnikos Greek Kipos Εθνικός Κήπος ) is a public garden near Syntagma Square in Athens. As a former castle garden borders on the city side opposite to the former city palace and today's Parliament building and at the Zappeion.

History

In ancient times, was a part of the grounds of the private garden of the philosopher and botanist Theophrastus, a successor of Aristotle. The garden was a gift from Demetrios of Phalerum to his teacher as a landmark occupied. There was also a sanctuary and a library.

The 15.5 -acre garden was on the one hand planned 1838-1840 by order of Queen Amalie by the agronomists Friedrich Schmidt as scientifically -used botanical garden, as well as a private retreat.

1867 Schmidt succeeded where the rare Agave atrovirens Karwinski making them thrive. Schmidt moved, inter alia, Crocuspflanze he sent Carl David Bouché and the latter successfully wintered in Germany in a cold greenhouse. Friedrich Adolph Haage he provided a cucumber plant: " the roll cucumber from Athens primarily to distinguishing itself as a cucumber therefore from most other that they never tasted bitter, as mustard pickle, however, very fleshy and furry never appears ."

Was expanded the garden by the German - Greek botanist Carl Fraas. Part of the planting was not suitable for the Mediterranean climate and has been replaced. During the works, archaeological finds were made, including a Roman mosaic and an ancient aqueduct that was used for the garden. Queen Amalie later turned to agriculture policy and was not even involved in the care of the garden. Director of the garden was Theodor von Held Empire and its successor Spiridon Miliarakis.

In 1923, the public garden has been released and renamed after the end of the monarchy in 1974 by royal garden in National Garden.

In the 1990s the zoo was dissolved in the park, because he was no longer in current legal provisions, necessary restructuring measures would however demanded large interventions in the substance. In operation, a small botanical museum about the history of the park, a café and a children's library. Some archaeological finds can also be seen in the park. Some busts remember personalities of Greece, including one of the poet Dionysios Solomos and one of the banker Jean Gabriel Eynard.

Henry Miller wrote in 1939 about the garden:

"It remains in my memory like no other park I have known. It is the quintessence of a park, the thing one feels sometimes in looking at a canvas or dreaming of a place one would like to be in and never finds. "

Trivia

In the park in 1920 King Alexander was bitten by his pet, a monkey, and then died of blood poisoning.