Alter Botanischer Garten (Marburg)

The 3.6 -acre Old Botanical Garden of the University of Marburg is a botanical garden in Marburg. It lies on the Pilgrimstein few hundred meters south of the Elisabeth Church in the city center of Marburg. Already in 1786 it was created as a French Lustgarten from the German religious house.

History

The humanist, poet, physician and botanist Euricius Cordus, who is considered one of the founders of scientific botany in Germany, had founded between 1527-1533 on so-called glass head in the southeast of Marburg a private botanical garden, where he conducted field trips with his students. About this garden and its history is nothing more known.

Under Professor Conrad Moench was created after the merger of the Collegium Carolinum in Kassel with the University of Marburg in 1786 the so-called Weinberg west of the Elisabeth Church of the Botanical Garden created. Once under Georg Wilhelm Franz Wenderoth (1774-1861) in 1810, the site was taken south of the Elisabeth Church of the German Order of the house, a new plant of the botanical garden at the present site were enlarged and until 1814. Therefore, it is referred to as the "Father of the Botanical Garden ." 1873-1875 the Botanical Institute was built at the Pilgrim Stone 4 in the Gothic Revival style. In addition to the sandstone building the other buildings were a half-timbered building in which the scientific and the technical manager lived, the greenhouses, the supply rooms and an old pot shed.

In the 1960s, the number of students increased more and more, so that the outsourcing of some departments it was decided. With the Botanical and Zoological Institute and other, a 20 -acre New Botanical Garden was laid out on the Lahnbergen 1961-1977. With the design Günther Grzimek was commissioned from Kassel.

Current usage

Although still owned by the university, the old botanical garden is used by the inhabitants as predominantly public park. In the former Botanical Institute, the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology is now based. The timber-framed building was converted into a guest house of the university, following the now listed utility rooms also a Musizierhaus and Society House were built.

The uniqueness of this garden statue is based today on the successful connection of a "Science Garden" with the "English garden design ". He still shows important vestiges of its history. This relates both to the history of garden design as well as the history of science from the times of 'only' descriptive ' natural historians " by Carl Linnaeus, the " plant geography " Alexander von Humboldt's about the time of evolutionary explanations of Charles Darwin and Ernst Haeckel to laboratory botany.

Parking areas

In the 70s, many intensive care departments with va were herbaceous plants and shrubs placed in the new botanical garden on the Lahnbergen. Almost all greenhouses were demolished and in its place a Musizierhaus. In the old botanical garden thus remain the following departments:

Alpinum

In alpinum only various types of pines and rhododendrons, but no herbaceous alpine plants are no longer present. Instead, a new, larger rockery was built on the Lahnbergen.

Medicinal Plant Garden

The medicinal plant garden at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology was created in the 50s of the 20th century for teaching and demonstration purposes only and is today still used in this sense. There are V.A. to see herbaceous medicinal herbs, including speedwell ( Veronica chamaedrys ), the monkshood ( Aconitum napelios ), the bloodroot ( Potentilla erecta ), the bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus ), mullein ( Verbascun thapsus ) and the iris (Iris germanica ).

Smelling and touching

The smell and touch garden was donated in 1982 by the " Rose Marburger friends ". Here are numerous, particularly hard to see fragrant plants, especially roses. This part of the garden allows blind people to learn about plants and immediately close. The paths in this garden for the blind are supported by a railing. The plants themselves are in raised beds built of concrete, which also serve as railings.

Arboretum

The Arboretum and the pflanzengeografische department form the focus of the old botanical garden. There are some 200 year old trees exist, including a sessile oak (Quercus petraea ), a plane tree (Platanus acerifolia ) with 6 m in circumference and 45 m crown diameter, a very large white willow (Salix alba) in the pond, about 30 m tall tulip tree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ), and many coniferous trees in the Pinetum. In the meadows numerous spring flowers grow as daffodils ( Leucojum vernum ) and crocuses (Crocus ).

Friends of

In support of the Botanical Garden in 1993, the Association of Friends has - Old Botanical Garden together in order to support the preservation and restoration of special and older trees.