Wintergarden
Experience the most magical magical world of winter!
Open until April 14th.
In the winter season, Botania transforms into a magical winter wonderland with the opening of its Winter Garden. The entire outdoor area of Botania is covered in snow and ice, creating a beautiful winter wonderland where visitors can enjoy a combination of outdoor activities and cultural experiences.
As our goal is to bring joy and amazement to everyone, we've created snow sculptures in the past. These sculptures were inspired by various topics, such as the fragility of our cultural environment and the importance of preserving it. We've crafted replicas of Stonehenge stone circle (Snowhenge) and the Easter Island Moai statues (Snoai) using snow. These sculptures were made to exact size, of course.
In the winter season of 2024, we intend to draw attention towards the state of our seas and our impact on their diversity and well-being. To achieve this, we plan to create a life-sized blue whale sculpture made entirely of snow, called Snow Whale, in the Botanic Garden. The dimensions of the sculpture will be the same as that of a real blue whale, which is 35m long and 9m high. We hope that this sculpture will captivate the viewer's attention and make them feel part of nature's cycle.
During the winter season, you can enjoy various activities in the winter garden. You can admire the snow sculpture, take a walk along the illuminated pathway either by propeller or on foot, and slide down the frozen slides. If you feel cold outside, you can step inside our indoor greenhouses to experience the northern tropics, see fish in the aquarium, and appreciate flowering fruit trees while sipping on a glass of wine or a hot cup of your favorite beverage.
We are open Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. You can enter the winter garden with Botania's one-time ticket or Botania card (sold in Botania's online store).
See you in the winter wonderland!
Experience the Snow Whale now!
Have you ever swum in the sea and encountered a blue whale? Or perhaps you've watched their majestic, silent passage from afar and admired them for hours in deep awe.
In recent years, Botania's Winter Garden has featured increasingly magnificent snow sculptures. These sculptures have two things in common: firstly, they aim to bring attention to important issues for discussion. Secondly, they offer a unique experience.
For the winter season of 2024, we have built a snow sculpture of a blue whale modeled after its real measurements. The awe-inspiring dimensions of this snowy beauty are 9m high and 35m long.
We created Snow Whale to raise awareness about the alarming state of our seas. The diversity of marine life is in danger and its habitats - like those needed by blue whales to survive and reproduce - are disappearing. Snow Whale is designed to be life-sized so that you can feel small in comparison to this giant of the seas. After all, we too are mammals like whales. The experience is enhanced by a soundscape that uses real whale sounds. Although the snow whale attracts visitors throughout the winter, it melts and disappears when the spring sun warms it up. This is also what our glacier regions do.
The snow whale was completed in Botania's outdoor garden during a work period that lasted about a month, and its construction required a work team that was not afraid of arctic weather, diggers, snow cannons, ropes, and chainsaws.
Work group:
Concept and idea:
Kari Kola
Snow Sculpture Team:
Chief Sculptor and Chief Technical Officer: Akos Toth (Hungary)
Antti Pedroso
Timo Koivisto
Soundscape:
Sylvain Morreau (France)
Engine team:
Huoltolinki Oy
Technique:
Tuomo Lehikoinen
Onni Tahvanainen
Route
Heinäpurontie 70, 80110 Joensuu, North Karelia, Finland
In front of Botania, the first two parking spaces are for disabled parking. There are three more parking spaces after the disabled spots. Cars could be left in our new parking lot at the end of Botania, towards the horse track. Botania is easily reached by bicycle or by foot from the city center.
Opening Hours
During the autumn break from October 12th to October 19th, 2024, we are open every day from 9 AM to 10 PM.
March 13th - April 14th Saturday 10am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm
June 2nd - August 13th. Every day 11am - 9pm
August 18th - November 12th. Friday - Saturday 12am - 9pm
November 23-26th Visual Festival 3pm - 10pm
December 27th - January 7th Every day 3pm - 10pm
January 10th - February 11th Wednesday - Sunday 3pm - 10pm
Entrance Fee
Our cafeteria is an entrance-free area where you can sit down for a coffee or eat something. For greenhouses, terraces and outdoor gardens you need a one-day ticket.
Artists’ workplace Access is free for artists who want to work in the gardens and be inspired by our nature. Please keep in mind to respect the garden and the other customers. Your artistic work can’t disturb other customers.
A one-day ticket is valid for one day. It allows you to visit all of our premises at opening hours.
Botania-card is valid for one year. It allows you to visit all of our premises and events at opening hours. By renewing your card within two weeks of the expiration date, you will receive a 10 euro discount on the new card.
Botania card gives you free access unless otherwise stated.
One-day tickets
ONE-DAY TICKET kids 4-12 years old €7,-
ONE-DAY TICKET adult €15,-
ONE-DAY TICKET family 1-3 adults and 1-3 kids €45,-
ONE-DAY TICKET students, seniors, unemployed, soldier €10,-
Botania cards
BOTANIA-CARD kids 4-15 years €25,-
BOTANIA-CARD adult €45,-
BOTANIA-CARD family (2 adults and 1-3 kids between the ages 4-15) €95,-
BOTANIA-CARD friends 1 (you and 1 friend) €70,-
BOTANIA-CARD friends 2 (you and 2 friends) €90,-
BOTANIA-CARD friends 3 (you and 3 friends) €100,-
BOTANIA-CARD friends 4 (you and 4 friends) €115,-