Botanical Gardens and Poppelsdorf Palace, Bonn (must see)

Joseph Clemens, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne in 1715, had a problem. His old ruined castle of Poppelsdorf desperately needed a rehab. His plan was to replace the castle with a "pleasure house." He wanted it to be like the Palace of Versailles.

French architect Robert de Cotte designed the Elector's dream palace. In 1818, under Prussian rule, the Palace became part of the University of Bonn. The Park was remade as the Botanical Garden of Bonn.

Robert de Cotte's plan followed the country house concepts of the time: interior circular courtyards, audience rooms, dining rooms, a chapel and a Great Room or hall. The Palace suffered extensive bomb damage in 1944. It was rebuilt using a more simplified plan.

The Botanical Gardens currently cover 9.5 hectares of ground, of which 6.5 hectares are open to the public. The baroque garden, its arboretum and two conservatories are cared for by the university.

The outdoor portion the garden holds 3,000 species organized into four sections. The Arboretum has 700 species of woody plants, trees and shrubs. The Systemic section has 1,200 species of plants and flowers. The Geographic section plants are grouped according to geographical origin. The Biotope section is local endangered flora.

The greenhouses are the Fern House, the Mediterranean House, the Palm House, the Succulent House, and The Victorian bog House. Smaller houses contain carnivorous plants and orchids.