Arboretum Wirty
The Arboretum Wirty is an applied to study collective planting different types of trees and shrubs in the north Polish Wirty ( German Wirthy ) of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The forest science -driven Arboretum includes a 33.61 -acre overall system with over 700 different tree species, which is to a large extent the public recreation and for purposes of school and public education. In addition, there is a natural science teaching, study and breeding center. One focus of the training is to convey ecological aspects. The Baumgarten emerged from a royal forester in the West Prussian Forstgutsbezirk Wirthy to 1875. Since 2005, the Arboretum is also listed as a botanical garden.
Geographical and natural spatial position
The Arboretum is part of the mayor's office ( sołectwo ) Borzechowo ( German Bordzichow ) in the northern Polish rural community Zblewo ( German Hochstüblau ) in the powiat Starogardzki. It lies approximately 6 kilometers southeast of Zblewo, 14 kilometers southwest of Starogard Gdański ( German Prussian Stargard ), and 56 kilometers south of Gdansk. It is located in western Vistula space on the Baltic ridge and forms the northeastern foothills of the Tuchel Heath, a typical weichselglazialen outwash plain. In the south of the lakes Bordzichower limits ( today Jezioro Borzechowskie Wielkie ) to the plantations.
History
The Royal Forestry Wirthy already existed in the early modern period and extended from the north via the Bordzichower Lakes south to the Black Water, a left tributary of the Vistula. The Royal Forest District in the rather monotonous pine forest, which is also the Forstetablissement Kaliska belonged stated by the West Prussian pastor and historian Bernhard Stadie, north of the lakes and north of Bordzichow. In the novel The Adventures of Oijamitza born on the nearby estate Budda writer Elizabeth Siewert describes the procession of a forestry company.
Establishment of the Arboretum in 1875 and plantings
To supply the forest settlements of East Prussia a tree nursery was established in the mid-19th century to the Oberförsterei Wirthy. 1867 Adam joined Puttrich (often written Putrich ) the Office as a royal forester at that planted the mid -1870s, the first exotic trees. In addition, he had the Nutzwege the nursery with rows of fruit trees provided that are still today ( 2013). Since the exact year of the first planting is not possible to identify, taken in 1875 as the birth year of the arboretum.
In 1887 Puttrich initiated a close collaboration with the forest scientist Adam Schwappach. Schwappach was Privy Councillor, a professor at the University of Giessen and at the Academy of Forestry Eberswalde and department director at the Prussian main station of forest research system, and tested at this time on experimental plots in East Prussia, the introduction of non-stationary constant, especially North American trees. Based on this model Putrich and Schwappach also created in Wirthy thirty experimental plots. One of the first plantations were among sessile oak (Quercus petraea, Syn: Q. sessilis, Q. sessiliflora ) and red oak (Quercus rubra), the official state tree of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Followed later by pitch pine (Pinus rigida ), which are located in eastern North America, Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) and giant trees of life (Thuja plicata, Syn: Thuja gigantea ), whose natural range in western North America from Alaska (57 ° N.Br. ) to northern California (39 ° N.Br. ) ranges.
First results and climatic conditions
In edited by Hugo Conwentz Forstbotanischer Merkbuch a first report appeared in 1900 on the arboretum with 22 images. In the years 1904-1911 exact measurements and evaluations were carried out on the growth of the now thirty introduced species. The experts came to the conclusion that most of these species are not suitable for larger cultivation in the region. The government and forester Herrmann from Danzig in 1911 summarized the results as follows:
" Are mißraten Total area in Wirthyer the growing trials with the Austrian pine, Pinus Laricio austriciaca, from a kusseliger shrub is left here and there, and those with Pinus jeffreyi and Pinus ponderosa, as recalled nothing more. [ ... ] If one looks at the end once the results [ ... ], so we have come to a final judgment only on Pinus rigida; she has not met the expectations set for them. In contrast, Pinus banksiana has pioneered, for initial culture of wasteland soils and as a stopgap in verlichteten pine cultures proved [ ... ]. The Piceaarten do not seem to come to our, after all trockneres jaw area and the unfavorable, harsh climate of West Prussia in question. From the firs only Abies concolor appears worthy of further testing in the large. The Douglas fir has been here at least quantitatively done in the green form under favorable site conditions Good [ ... ]; further trials appear justified. For the Japanese larch few sites will come at us in the West Prussian lowlands in question as for its European sister. The Cupressineae probably come only for cultivation in the most protected documents and on the best and freshest floors for small areas, and more from forestry aesthetic of silvicultural reasons in question. - Quercus rubra seems to tolerate our harsh climate good. "
Determining factors for the cultivation were, or are, firstly, the clayey - sandy diluvial soils of the flat to flat -wavelength region, on the other hand its specific climatic conditions in the transition zone between maritime and continental climate mild. Part of a long harsh winter characterize the rather dry area, which lies at an altitude 100-102 meters above sea level. However, the low average rainfall of 600 mm / year is compensated by the hydration of the adjacent lakes Borzichower something. The average annual temperature is 6.7 ° C, the growing season is around 200 days a year.
Annual Meeting of the German Society Dendrological 1911
In August 1911, the German Dendrologic Company performed its annual meeting in Gdansk and visited the Arboretum. When running through the grounds of the now reigning chief forester torture underlined the good growth Douglas fir clumps and regretted that only sad remains available from the Hickoryarten, the catalpa, tulip tree ( the state's official tree of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee ) and the Zelkowa were. The Royal Garden inspector and director of the company Ludwig Beissner wrote in the communications of the Society:
"We now reach Bordzichow, where lunch is served in the village inn, and then a visit to the exciting forest stocks will continue with foreigners. They offer in any case the most interesting teaching Richest what we saw in this area so far. We see pretty developed exotic forest garden and planting the garden, [ ... ]. Situated on a plateau in the forest, before the great Bordzichower Lake propagates with forest setting, a great beautiful landscape picture, the coffee was taken [ ... ]. "
Standstill up and revival after 1950
During the time likely and between the two world wars was the development of the arboretum largely silent, or at least have little information from that time known. Measurements were carried out only very sporadically and reduces maintenance measures. New plants were only in the 1950s, now under Polish administration, set recordings and performed, which resulted in a backlog of 90 deciduous trees and 140 conifers. The forest manager Kazimierz Szulisławski put on a new path with exotic trees and following him head of the Forestry Commission Wirty, Józef Pozorski, created an alpine rock garden by the pond of the arboretum. In the years 1974/75 has been linked with the formation of new experimental Douglas areas of the work of Puttrich and Schwappach. In 1984, the Arboretum cooperation with the Institute of Dendrology ( Instytut Dendrologii Kórniku w ) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kórnik. The collaboration led to the creation of new experimental areas, in particular with the planting of Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pinus ponderosa, Abies procera, East Asian Larix gmelinii and North American woody plants such as Pinus strobus, Abies grandis, Tsuga canadensis, Pinus jeffreyi, Picea rubens, Pinus rigida, and Picea mariana.
In 1986 the arboretum was opened to visitors. In 2005, the Arboretum also received the status of a botanical garden and 2006 it started cooperation with the Agricultural Academy in Szczecin. In the same year near the main entrance, a new gatehouse was built. The paths were leveled and secured and created a new 2,340 -meter-long fence.
Science, education and recreation center
Of the original thirty experimental plots remained twelve until today. The Arboretum gathered over an area of 33.61 hectares over 700 different tree and shrub species. A special feature of the Arboretum as the only plant in Poland a copy Juglans x intermedia Carr. ( Black walnut hybrids ). With the built in 1990 greenhouse, a seed bank and a classroom building opened in 2006, the Arboretum provides Wirty now represents as a modern scientific research, rearing and training center, which will focus on teaching ecological aspects. 2011, the Fourth International Conference of the Botanical Gardens from the Baltic region took place in the Arboretum. A 2.5-kilometer long nature trail with information panels shows the history of the system and the specifics of the plantations. Every year around 15,000 children and young people learn under the guidance of foresters know the forest. In addition, with walking and hiking trails and viewpoints serves as a recreation area.
Famous visitors have included 2009 Poland's former president Lech Walesa, who planted an English oak. 2005 stuck Bishop Edward Janiak an oak, whose seed Pope John Paul II blessed.