Old Botanical Garden, Zürich

The Old Botanical Garden Zurich « zur Katz » is a botanical garden in the Swiss city of Zurich.

Location

A distinction is made between two sites: the existing since 1833 the old Botanical Garden at the former bastion « zur Katz » (Quartier City, District 1) and opened in 1977, the new plant at the Zollikerstrasse (Quartier Weinegg, district 8) with the Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich.

History

The origins of the first botanical garden to go to the so-called herb garden by Conrad Gesner (* 1516, † 1565) back. A descendant of Gesner, the physician and naturalist John Gessner (* 1709, † 1790), put together with the established 1746 " Natural History Society Zurich » a botanical garden on. After a relocation of the Canton of Zurich took over with the founding of the University of Zurich in 1833, the so-called " Schimmelgut ".

With the dissolution of the bulwark « zur Katz » the still existing facility was built in 1837 on Schanzengraben. ( † 1907 * 1810) was designed by the University of garden gardener Leopold Karl Theodor Froebel. 1851 was followed by the opening of the listed building, Palm House - at the beginning of glass and wood built, received the octagonal glass pavilion in 1877, a cast iron frame. Today the pavilion is primarily used for concerts, theater and exhibitions.

The terrain is completely bounded by buildings, which made ​​it impossible for the much needed expansion in the second half of the 20th century, also inhibited the shadow of built after the mid -1960s, high-rise buildings, the growth conditions for the plants. The buildings were in poor condition, so the move from the city center allowed for the expansion of the botanical collection at the periphery of the city. In 1971, voters decided to build a new botanical garden in the " old park " family Bodmer -Abegg, in the Quartier Weinegg to Zollikerstrasse. The plant « zur Katz » harbored until the move to the new location the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich and is since 1976 a recreational area in the city center.

Plant

Arboretum

Today, the plant belongs with its tree population to Ethnographic Museum, which is housed in the former Institute buildings. As before, noteworthy is the Arboretum and the idyllic location on Schanzengraben, among Zürich City, which makes the garden a popular recreational area. Open the plant is from April to September 07:00 to 7:00 p.m., October to March 08:00-18:00 clock.

Gessner garden

On the hill reminds of " Gessner garden ", a medieval herb garden, to Conrad Gesner. Here was located on the highest point of the former bastion « zur Katz », the southern bastion with the guns (so-called " cats " ) of the city's fortifications. Opened on 27 May 1997, the garden was realized by a private-sector horticultural companies and financed by the foundation " Pro Katz ," would ensure the maintenance of the botanical display garden.

At Conrad Gesner's work as city physician and naturalist, a monument at the north end of the herb garden; it should be wider known through the 50 franc note of the sixth series of banknotes from 1976, which shows his portrait.

The Gessner garden and medicinal plants of the 16th century

Each of the 50 plants ( herbs and shrubs ) is explained with a contemporary quote from a former healers:

• Artichoke, Strobildorn (Cynara cardunculus ), " boiled and truncken The Wurtzel of Strobildorns in wine sells the bad taste of the whole abdomen. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Bloodroot, Tormentill ( Potentilla erecta, Syn: Potentilla tormentilla ): " retain and gekawet The Wurtzel in the mouth heylet desselbigen lazy Geschwör. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Flax (Linum usitatissimum ): « Gemelter Safft sells spots, heard for the term hoffer women who like beautiful faces Hetten. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Common Peony (Paeonia officinalis): ". Diss herb inn children weighing gestecket bewaret the children for terror where the kids falling gewonlich inn the night - also sells other ghost " ( Bock 1557)
• Milk thistle ( Silybum marianum ): " The boiled Wurtzel and getruncken which is good where a stupid stomach and may have wolbehalten the Speiss nit. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Juniper (Juniperus communis): " The smoke of them chased the snakes and the vergifften Dufft. Wherefore where the Pestilentz ruled, such Stätz you make of Weckholder Holtz smoke in all Gemachen in them you wonet. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca ): " The Brüe bekrefftigt held it in her mouth and secured the Zanfleysch, heylet the Mundfeule and distributes the evil taste of the mouth. " (Fuchs 1543)
• Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.): "It is a defense ( amulet) from the falling Siechtag (epilepsy ) - ready superstition. " ( Gesner 1561)

Shown are medicinal plants, one of which has already been accepted for centuries that they show in diseases and ailments salutary effect, and some of which even today their healing effect can be used for. The signs of the plants gives an insight into the medicinal plant knowledge of Conrad Gesner and his contemporaries, such as Hieronymus Bock (* 1498, † 1554 ) and Leonhart Fuchs ( * 1501, † 1566).