To the Keukenhof to see the tulips in bloom

Who hasn’t heard the song “Tulips from Amsterdam…”. Close to the metropolis is the Keukenhof, certainly the most famous place in the country to experience the tulip blossom.

Every year, the tulip blossom attracts millions of visitors from all over the world to Keukenhof Holland. Its proximity to Amsterdam, Haarlem and Leiden makes it an ideal excursion destination. For us, the visit was one of the highlights of a river cruise. Our ship had docked in Amsterdam and it was a 40-minute bus ride to Keukenhof. Our tour guide on the bus used the time to give us some really interesting information. I particularly remember how the tulip came to Holland and the value it once had for people.

The tulip comes to Holland

Long before the tulip found its way to Central Europe, it was already known in the Middle East (9th century). It is assumed that the garden tulip originated here from several wild species. The Turks adopted the cultivation of the tulip from the Persians. There are mentions by poets from the 13th century and also illustrations on ceramics that prove this. Around the 16th century, the tulip was used as a garden plant.

The garden tulip arrived in Central and Western Europe in the middle of the 16th century. The first evidence suggests that the tulipa appeared at court in Italy in 1549. The imperial ambassador to the court of Süleyman I described the plant in his letters and gave it this name. Today it is assumed that the name arose due to a linguistic misunderstanding. Tulipan (Turkish tulip ribbon) means turban ribbon and rather describes the shape of the flower. In the Turkish scriptures, the name lalé is found for the flower. It is assumed that this ambassador also sent the first tulip bulbs and thus promoted their spread. Within Central Europe, it then also reached Holland via barter transactions.

At the end of the 16th century, Holland became the center of tulip cultivation. In the period between 1630 and 1650, around 800 different tulip varieties were known by name.

Tulip mania

The upper classes took a liking to the tulip. Tulip lovers were enthusiastic about the new and exotic plants. They planted private gardens, cultivated new varieties and exchanged them with each other. The high value and rarity of the plant quickly made it a financially valuable commodity. Tulip bulbs were even stolen and then appeared on the black market.

Commercial trade began at the end of the 16th century. A veritable business boom developed, causing prices to rise (in the 1630s). The development of tulip prices between 1630 and 1637 is only partially documented. As early as the 1620s, high prices were achieved for particularly rare tulip varieties. One famous example is the Semper Augustus tulip, which is considered the most expensive tulip of all time.

Prices of the Semper Augustus:

• 1623: 1,000 guilders per bulb
• 1624: 1,200 guilders
• 1633: 5,500 guilders
• 1637: 30,000 guilders were offered for three bulbs.

With regard to these prices, it should be noted that the average annual income in the Netherlands was around 150 guilders.

However, such extreme prices were exceptions. Most tulips were traded for much lower sums. In 1611, for example, a tulip of the variety “Cears op de Candlelaer” was sold for just 20 guilders.

The crash

At the beginning of 1637, the price of some tulips rose dramatically. The Groot Gepluymaseerde variety doubled in price from 0.07 guilders per aes (1 aes = 0.048 grams) to 0.15 guilders per aes in just two weeks. In the same period, the Switserts variety rose from 125 guilders per pound to 1,500 guilders – a twelve-fold increase. Tulip prices peaked on February 3, 1637 at an auction in Alkmaar. The average price per bulb was 793 guilders, but individual specimens fetched significantly higher amounts:

• A tulip of the Viceroy variety sold for 4,203 guilders.
• A tulip of the Admirael van Enchhysen variety fetched 5,200 guilders.

Just two days after the auction, on February 5, 1637, prices began to fall. At an auction in an inn, no tulips could be sold at the expected prices. In the days that followed, the tulip market collapsed throughout the Netherlands. Tulip prices fell by over 95%. Many speculators lost a lot of money. Today, the tulip mania can be described as one of the first documented speculative bubbles in economic history.

After the collapse of the tulip market in 1637, cities and traders tried to resolve the crisis. Various approaches were discussed, but a uniform approach often failed due to a lack of cooperation and legal uncertainty.

Origin of the Keukenhof

In the 15th century, the area where Keukenhof is located today was part of the lands of Teylingen Castle. Countess Jacoba of Bavaria, who lived at Teylingen Castle at the time, used the land to grow herbs, fruit and vegetables for the castle kitchen. This is why the area was given the name “Keukenduin”, which means “kitchen garden”.

A wealthy Amsterdam merchant had Keukenhof Castle built there in 1641. In the 19th century, the then owner rebuilt the gardens in the style of an English landscape garden. This is still the basis for the park today.

Keukenhof as we know it today was founded in 1949. An association of flower bulb growers and exporters had the idea of using the site as an exhibition venue for their products. The aim was to promote Dutch floriculture and support exports.

The park first opened to the public in 1950 and attracted 200,000 visitors in its first year. Today, Keukenhof is a 32-hectare park.

The park is open from March to May and millions of visitors come from all over the world during this time.

A visit to Keukenhof

The bus rolls into a huge parking lot. It is 9 o’clock in the morning and so far there are only about 10 buses there. That should change by lunchtime. When we left a few hours later, there were already hardly any free spaces in the huge parking lot.

My tip: don’t come to Keukenhof too late. It gets really crowded from around 10/11 o’clock and the main paths in particular are very overcrowded. It should only become a little quieter again in the late afternoon.

We entered the grounds through the group entrance and for the first few minutes we were shown around and given some information.

We learned that this area is really only open for 8 weeks a year. Every year, around 7 million spring flowers are planted. Always in different arrangements and with a specific theme each year. Hundreds of growers are involved in the show and present their most beautiful flowers. During these 8 weeks, not only tourists but also growers come to Keukenhof.

After the short introduction, we went on a discovery tour with the current park map (available free of charge at the entrance).

What is there to see?

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but certainly not this beautiful plant. For me, the term tulip blossom was associated with huge fields of tulips, so I was really pleasantly surprised.

We criss-crossed the park on well-surfaced paths. Apart from the buildings, the paths and trees are the only fixed constants on the site. Many areas are leveled after the season and redesigned the following year. What an effort – but it’s worth it.

We stroll past blooming crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and small tulips. Later in the spring we will see tulips, daffodils, muscari, fittalaria, late-flowering hyacinths, irises and alliums. What colors! I don’t know how many times we stopped and looked at the colorful flowers. The early bloomers are always in new combinations by the wayside and each time they have a different effect on me.

Exhibition buildings

There are several permanent buildings in the park. In addition to the usual stores, restaurants and, of course, toilets, there are also other buildings.

In the Juliana building, for example, an interesting exhibition on the theme of 75 years of Keukenhof awaited us. The building called Beatrix showed us an impressive flower show on the subject of orchids.

My personal highlight, however, was the Willem-Alexander building. For 8 weeks, a variety of colorful flowers and plants were on display here. The various types of tulips were displayed in smaller show areas. A total of 500 different varieties of tulips were on display during this time.

I didn’t realize that a tulip could be so different. Well, I was familiar with different colors and even two-tone flowers, but I had never seen tulips with frayed-looking edges or parrot tulips, lily-flowered tulips and viridiflora tulips before.

Not to be missed

A walk around the lake is not to be missed and if you need even more of a “typical Dutch feeling”, you should walk past the windmill. We only took a quick look at it. It was so crowded there that we preferred to walk along quieter, smaller paths.

A tip: there are numerous stores on the grounds. There you can buy everything you need or don’t need, from tulip bulbs to cuddly toys. The range on offer in the stores varied, but there were definitely flower bulbs right at the entrance/exit.

Our stay was limited in time due to the return trip to the river cruise ship. It was okay for a first impression, but I would have liked to stay much longer. Not only did I constantly discover new photo opportunities, I could have walked along the paths for hours. What a wonderful day! A little tip: there are numerous stores on the grounds. There you can buy everything you need or don’t need, from tulip bulbs to cuddly toys. The range on offer in the stores varied, but there were definitely flower bulbs right at the entrance/exit.

Visitor information

Address

Stationsweg 166A
2161 AM Lisse – Niederlande