Established around 500 years ago, our Botanical Garden is the oldest at any German university. Its greenhouses, outdoor areas, herbal garden and “scent and touch” garden are home to a total of more than 10,000 plants.
Spread across just three hectares, our university’s Botanical Garden boasts 4500 species of plant in 1800 genera. With 363 plant families in total, the collections represent over 65 per cent of all families known worldwide. The plant groups are arranged according to classification principles such as genetic relationships, native regions, chemical ingredient groups and morphological characteristics. The collections serve a variety of research and educational purposes in the fields of biology, pharmacy, biochemistry, and human and veterinary medicine.
The Botanical Garden was founded between 1542 and 1580 and together with Siena and Padua is even among the oldest in Europe. Its foundation dates back to a medicinal plant garden at the former Dominican monastery of St. Paul, at the site of what is now the Augustusplatz campus. The Botanical Garden was established at its current location on Linnéstraße in 1877. In recent years, the greenhouses have been refurbished and some of the open spaces redesigned.