The History of Tulips in the Netherlands

Clusius was a botanist who worked at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor in the late 16th century. He encountered tulips first when they were brought back to the emperor from Turkey by the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Busbech. This was part of an influx of many interesting products from foreign countries during the 16th century including flowers and other plants. The first tulips were grown in Augsburg in the gardens of a very important banker, a member of the Fugger family. Clusius is usually the person who is credited with this but there are also stories that tulips come in another way.