Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Encyclopedia
The Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (7 hectares), also known as the Botanischer Garten Frankfurt am Main, is a botanical garden
and arboretum
maintained by the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. It is located at Siesmayerstraße 72, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse
, Germany
, and open daily in the warmer months.
First Garden: near the Eschenheimer Tor (1767-1907). Frankfurt's first botanical garden was created in the years 1763-1774 by Johann Christian Senckenberg
(1707-1772), and was operated by the Senckenberg Foundation as a hortus medicus for the cultivation of medicinal herbs for the foundation's public hospital and medical institute. Its site, about 1 hectare in size, was patterned on Carl Linnaeus' garden in Uppsala
. Until 1867 every director was a physician. By 1903, the garden cultivated more than 4,000 species
but its extent had been gradually reduced by hospital expansion until just 7,000 m² remained.
Second Garden: adjacent to the Palmengarten
(1907-1958). After lengthy negotiations between the city and foundation, a new, 1.4-hectare site was found just east of the Palmengarten
. The move took place in 1907-1908. When the university was founded in 1914, the garden became a research facility. In the 1930s it was improved by an arboretum
, alpine garden, and sand dunes. (The Palmengarten was restored in the 1960s and serves as Frankfurt's other major botanical garden.)
Third Garden: Siesmayerstraße (since 1931). From 1931-1937, the garden again began relocation to today's site on Siesmayerstraße in the northwestern Grüneburgpark
. This move was delayed by World War II
and the subsequent American occupation, and relocation was finally completed in 1958. A laboratory building and large greenhouse
were added in the years 1961-63.
Today the garden contains about 5,000 species
, with special collections of Rubus
(45 species
) and indigenous plants of central Europe
. It is organized into two major areas as follows. The geobotanical area contains an alpine garden, arboretum
, meadow
s, steppe
s, marsh
, and pond
, as well as collections of plants from the Canary Islands
, Caucasus
, East Asia
, Mediterranean, and North America
. The systematic and ecological collection includes crop
plants, endangered species
, ornamental plants, rose
s, and the Neuer Senckenbergischer Arzneipflanzengarten (New Senckenberg Medicinal Plant Garden, 1200 m²).
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
and arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
maintained by the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. It is located at Siesmayerstraße 72, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and open daily in the warmer months.
First Garden: near the Eschenheimer Tor (1767-1907). Frankfurt's first botanical garden was created in the years 1763-1774 by Johann Christian Senckenberg
Johann Christian Senckenberg
Johann Christian Senckenberg was a German physician , naturalist and collector.In 1763 he established the Senckenberg Foundation to support natural sciences...
(1707-1772), and was operated by the Senckenberg Foundation as a hortus medicus for the cultivation of medicinal herbs for the foundation's public hospital and medical institute. Its site, about 1 hectare in size, was patterned on Carl Linnaeus' garden in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
. Until 1867 every director was a physician. By 1903, the garden cultivated more than 4,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
but its extent had been gradually reduced by hospital expansion until just 7,000 m² remained.
Second Garden: adjacent to the Palmengarten
Palmengarten
The Palmengarten is one of two botanical gardens in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany, and is located in the city district Westend-Nord. It is the largest garden of its kind in Germany....
(1907-1958). After lengthy negotiations between the city and foundation, a new, 1.4-hectare site was found just east of the Palmengarten
Palmengarten
The Palmengarten is one of two botanical gardens in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany, and is located in the city district Westend-Nord. It is the largest garden of its kind in Germany....
. The move took place in 1907-1908. When the university was founded in 1914, the garden became a research facility. In the 1930s it was improved by an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, alpine garden, and sand dunes. (The Palmengarten was restored in the 1960s and serves as Frankfurt's other major botanical garden.)
Third Garden: Siesmayerstraße (since 1931). From 1931-1937, the garden again began relocation to today's site on Siesmayerstraße in the northwestern Grüneburgpark
Grüneburgpark
The Grüneburgpark is a park in the Westend district of Frankfurt, whose name derives from the "Green castle", which used to stand on the site from the 14 century. In 1789 the banker Peter Heinrich von Bethmann Metzler acquired the property and designed the park...
. This move was delayed by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the subsequent American occupation, and relocation was finally completed in 1958. A laboratory building and large greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
were added in the years 1961-63.
Today the garden contains about 5,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, with special collections of Rubus
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
(45 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
) and indigenous plants of central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. It is organized into two major areas as follows. The geobotanical area contains an alpine garden, arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
s, steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
, and pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
, as well as collections of plants from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, Mediterranean, and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The systematic and ecological collection includes crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
plants, endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, ornamental plants, rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, and the Neuer Senckenbergischer Arzneipflanzengarten (New Senckenberg Medicinal Plant Garden, 1200 m²).