The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna is abotanical garden inVienna,Austria. It covers 8hectares and is immediately adjacent to theBelvedere gardens. It is a part of theUniversity of Vienna.
The gardens date back to 1754 when EmpressMaria Theresa founded theHortus Botanicus Vindobonensis with renowned botanistNikolaus von Jacquin as one of its first directors. His son,Joseph von Jacquin, succeeded him as director, as did a number of other leading botanists in turn, includingStefan Endlicher,Eduard Fenzl,Anton Kerner von Marilaun,Richard von Wettstein,Fritz Knoll,Karl von Frisch, andLothar Geitler. The Institute of Botany building was opened in 1905. However, at the end of theSecond World War, the institute, all the greenhouses, and the entire garden area were bombed and severely damaged, and thus required major repair work.
In 1994,Wollemia (Wollemia nobilis) was discovered in Australia, previously known only from fossils. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna in 2004, the garden received aWollemia as a gift from Australia, this was the firstWollemia to be shown on the European mainland. This plant is now on permanent loan to the Schönbrunn Palm House. In the garden, the non-hardy plant is part of the cold house group.[1] On May 29, 2022, 2:30 p.m., the titanwort has reached "full bloom". The top heats up in the process and emits an unpleasant odor. The opening hours of the two following days are extended to 11 p.m.[2]
The gardens currently contain more than 11,500species of plants, including well-documented tropical plants, particularly of such families asAnnonaceae,Rubiaceae,Gesneriaceae,Bromeliaceae orOrchidaceae.[3] Its greenhouses (c. 1,500 m2) were originally built between 1890 and 1893, but were damaged during the Second World War; they were renovated or rebuilt between 1970 and 1995. Only the tropical greenhouse in the centre of the complex is open for the public.
There are several old trees in the Botanical Garden, but one of the oldest is now no longer on the garden grounds. The Jacquin or Mozart plane tree (Platanus orientalis) is a Viennese natural monument and grows in front of the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research. Due to property shifts, it now stands on the sidewalk in front of the department.
The garden collections include:
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48°11′30″N16°23′02″E / 48.19167°N 16.38389°E /48.19167; 16.38389
