Real Jardín Botánico is the Royal Botanical Garden of Spain that is situated in the heart of the capital of Spain, Madrid. It was ordered in the year 1755 by the then King of Spain, King Ferdinand VI. The garden took some years to be installed in its place and it was completed during the reign of Charles III. Two famous architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva designed the garden to its present form. The garden initially served the purpose of king's botanical collection as during the 18th-century botany used to be a royal hobby.
From the very inception the purpose of the garden was to teach Botany, promote researches for the discovery of new plant species apart from exhibiting the plants. The garden was so much dedicated to research that soon it became part of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research in the year 1939 and received the status of Artistic Garden in the year 1942. At present the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid is split into three areas. Of the most popular buildings of the garden, mention mat be made of the Villanueva Pavilion, the Graells Greenhouse and the Exhibition Greenhouse that was inaugurated recently in the year 1993. The Greenhouse boasts of more than a thousand species that are cultivated in three different modules namely tropical, desert, and subtropical species. The garden uses the latest clean green technology and was built with all modern materials.
The garden is also the home of a botanical research center with latest technological equipments, a herbarium that boasts of more than a million specimens together with a library that has more than 32,000 volumes. All these equipments are used for botanical research with emphasis on Spanish and American floras. Entrance to the garden is marked by an entry fee from which the garden maintenance cost is collected.
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