Accessible entry to the Tropical House in the Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden of Technische Universität Braunschweig has gained an important new feature: a newly built ramp has recently been installed, providing accessible entry to the Tropical House. This fulfils a long-held wish of many visitors. The Cactus House and the Orchid and Bromeliad House are now also much easier to reach.

Newly constructed ramp to the Tropical House in the Botanical Garden in Braunschweig. Photo credit: Robert Hänsch/TU Braunschweig

Construction work began last November. The aim was to design access to the greenhouses in such a way that people with reduced mobility could also visit the Botanical Garden more easily. As is often the case with construction projects in winter, the weather threw caused delays: due to the severe cold and wintry conditions, work had to be suspended for more than two months.

However, the contracted firm has now finished the work and erected the new ramp. A handrail will be fitted shortly, meaning the ramp will soon be fully complete.

The new access point is another step towards making the Botanical Garden as inclusive as possible. The Tropical House is a particular highlight of any visit, where plants from tropical regions of the world are grown and their diversity and size never fail to impress.

Annual spring maintenance

This week, to coincide with the completion of the ramp, the Tropical House underwent its annual “spring maintenance”. The tropical plants thrive particularly well in the warm, humid conditions. To maintain the paths and sightlines and allow the plants to continue developing well, the vegetation is heavily pruned once a year. During this work, some of the vegetation, which has grown to several metres in height, is thinned out without losing the character of the dense tropical forest.

Following this intensive maintenance, the Tropical House is looking its best once again: the paths are clear, many plants have fresh growth and visitors can experience the diversity of tropical flora up close.

The Botanical Garden of Technische Universität Braunschweig sees itself not only as a scientific institution for research and teaching, but also as a place where the public can encounter the plant world. The new barrier-free access supports this aim even better. This success is also thanks to the efforts of many colleagues within the institution, particularly Jörg Beyer and Silke Antes from the TU Building Management team.

“TU Braunschweig and the Botanical Garden team are therefore delighted to welcome visitors – and look forward to even more people being able to discover the greenhouses and their fascinating plants in future,” says Professor Robert Hänsch, Head of the Institute of Plant Biology.