Lystigarður Akureyrar

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The botanical garden in Akureyri is surprising for many reasons. Firstly, it is Iceland’s first botanical garden, and secondly, Akureyri is only 50 kilometres below the Arctic Circle.
In addition to Arctic plants, the garden also cultivates plants from the temperate latitudes and the high mountains of the world. Icelandic plants are present in several parts of the garden with about 400 species. In total, there are about 7000 different species in Lystigarður.

The trail of history

In 1910, some women from Akureyri founded a beautification association with the aim of creating a recreational area in their town. A year earlier, the city council had given them a hectare of land on what was then the city boundary. On it stood a small wooden house from 1880, „Eyrarlandsstofa“, which is still preserved today.
The garden was the first public park in Iceland. The first plantings were birch trees, which were planted at close distances from each other in order to separate the area on the one hand and to protect it from the wind on the other. Due to the exposed location about 45 metres above the sea, it would otherwise have been expected that the plants would not have grown well due to the wind coming from the sea.
Later, ash trees, larches, spruces and willows were planted to give the park a forest-like character. In the course of time, areas were added and the park was expanded in three steps to 3.6 hectares.

In addition to its function as a recreational area, the garden is an experimental field. It is tested which shrubs, trees and other plants can grow on the edge of the Arctic. Until 1953, the park was looked after by the park association, then Jón Rögnvaldsson took over. He had studied forestry and horticulture in Canada and co-founded the Icelandic Forestry Association in Iceland in 1935, whose goal is to renew the forest, which was largely lost in Iceland in the Middle Ages, through reforestation.

Useful Information

There is a large car park in front of the Botanical Garden. This can also be used for exploring Akureyri. The distance to the city centre is only 1.5 kilometres.
There is also a small café and toilet facilities in the park.

Entrance is free.

Further information can be found on the official homepage.

How to get there?

The Akureyri Botanical Garden is centrally located in the city and can easily be reached on foot from the bus stop.

Conclusion

The Akureyri Botanical Garden is unique in many ways. The plants grow here only a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle and yet bloom as magnificently as in more temperate locations.
Anyone stopping in Akureyri should definitely pay a visit to the botanical garden.