Description of the attraction
The Botanical Garden of the University of Wroclaw is located in the oldest part of the city, on Tumski Island. This garden is one of the oldest in Europe, it was founded in 1811 in the year of the opening of the University. Initially, the garden was assigned exclusively to a scientific function.
The botanical garden occupied an area of 5 hectares, its first director was appointed botanist and physiologist Professor Heinrich Friedrich Link. The garden gradually expanded, the number of plant species increased, the leaders changed, each of whom brought something new to the structure of the garden: created a division by geographical and climatic zones, expanded the number of crops grown. Under Johannes Buder in 1933, the borders of the garden increased by another 1 hectare due to the territory of the former cemetery.
In 1945, during the siege of the city by the Red Army, the garden was almost completely destroyed. German troops lined up anti-aircraft artillery positions in the garden and built ammunition storage areas. Even years later, in the 1950s, an impressive military arsenal was discovered during a thorough cleaning of the pond.
In 1948, it was decided to restore the botanical garden, returning it to its former appearance. This task was entrusted to Professor Henry Telezinsky and Stefan Mack. In 1958, after cleaning the pond by sappers, a wooden arch bridge was built, which to this day remains one of the most romantic places in the garden. In 1967, a special pool for aquatic plants was built according to the design of the architect Tadeusz Zipser. Since 1994, the botanical garden, together with the surrounding historic city center, has been considered a historical monument.
At present, the area of the garden is 7, 4 hectares, more than 7, 5 thousand species of plants are collected here (and taking into account various varieties, this figure reaches 11 500). Visitors can see evergreen mahogany, Polish larch, oak, yew, beech, over 30 varieties of hyacinths and over 80 varieties of daffodils. Also in the garden is a rich collection of greenhouse plants - more than 5000.
