Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen
Encyclopedia
The Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen is historic arboretum
and botanical garden
located in the Schiffenberger Wald on Schiffenberger Weg, Gießen
, Hesse
, Germany
. It is open daily without charge.
The garden dates to 1778 when the University of Giessen
added a study of forestry
, making it the oldest such department in the world, and created its first forest garden in 1802. In 1825 Forestry Master Karl von Gall created today's garden on an area of 0.5 hectares, which by 1830 contained "close to 400 varieties of forest plants" including many foreign trees. The Hessian Forest College was founded in 1825, and merged into the university in 1831. Carl Justus Heyer, who directed the garden from 1830-31 and 1835-1856, was also responsible for the Botanischer Garten Gießen
. By 1877 the forest garden had been extended to 5.7 hectares, and was enlarged again in 1883.
However, in 1938 the Forest Institute was relocated to the University of Göttingen, and the Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen fell into disuse. Today it still contains more than 200 tree and shrub species
.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located in the Schiffenberger Wald on Schiffenberger Weg, Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is open daily without charge.
The garden dates to 1778 when the University of Giessen
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
added a study of forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, making it the oldest such department in the world, and created its first forest garden in 1802. In 1825 Forestry Master Karl von Gall created today's garden on an area of 0.5 hectares, which by 1830 contained "close to 400 varieties of forest plants" including many foreign trees. The Hessian Forest College was founded in 1825, and merged into the university in 1831. Carl Justus Heyer, who directed the garden from 1830-31 and 1835-1856, was also responsible for the Botanischer Garten Gießen
Botanischer Garten Gießen
The Botanischer Garten Gießen , more formally the Botanischer Garten der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, is a historic botanical garden maintained by the University of Giessen. It is the oldest botanical garden in Germany still at its original site, with an entrance at Senckenbergstraße 6,...
. By 1877 the forest garden had been extended to 5.7 hectares, and was enlarged again in 1883.
However, in 1938 the Forest Institute was relocated to the University of Göttingen, and the Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen fell into disuse. Today it still contains more than 200 tree and shrub species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
.
External sources
- Lugena: Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen
- Klaus Schwarz, Der Akademische Forstgarten in Gießen: Ein forstgeschichtliches und forstbotanisches Lehrgebiet, Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald, Gießen, 1988. ISBN 3-9801841-0-2.
- Klaus Schwarz, "Der Akademische Forstgarten: Symbol der Gießener Forstwissenschaft", in 400 Jähre Universität Gießen, pages 206-211. http://www.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/tocs/186059272.pdf