Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The botanical garden of the University of Strasbourg came into being in 1619, when the city's Senate decided to create a Hortus medicus in the Krutenau district on an ancient religious ground. Intended for the training of medical students, this herbal garden is founded by Johann Rudolf Saltzmann, professor of practical medicine. He introduced exotic species inspired by Italian gardens and Montpellier, making Strasbourg the second oldest botanical garden in France after Montpellier (1593). In 1622, Gaspard Bauhin described him as "splendissimus".

In 1691, Director Marcus Mappus published the first catalogue of the 1,600 plants of the garden, classified according to Bauhin's nomenclature, and added a polyhedral sundial in 1694, still visible today. Despite enlargements, the garden, small and poorly exposed, suffers from aborted moves. In 1870, during the siege of Strasbourg, he was transformed into an improvised cemetery, welcoming 1,653 bodies in six weeks. The greenhouses, already damaged by the shells, were definitely destroyed by a hailstorm in 1871.

After the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871, Emperor William I launched the reconstruction of Strasbourg, including a new imperial university. Botanist Anton de Bary, the first rector, designs a modern garden in Neustadt, on a larger site. Inaugurated in 1884, it includes monumental greenhouses designed by architect Hermann Eggert, including the dodecagonal greenhouse dedicated to the giant neuphar Victoria regia. This garden, a symbol of German science, now retains its original area and combines historical heritage, botanical research and educational vocation.

The current garden, listed as a historic monument in 1990, still houses the Bary greenhouse (classified in 1993), an arboretum of 2,200 trees including a giant redwood planted in 1883, and a sundial restored in 1995. Open to the public, it is also a popular place to walk and a remarkable Garden since 2004. The association AAJBUS, established in 1983, organizes activities to preserve this living heritage, while a weather station has been operating there since 1922, demonstrating its continuing scientific role.

Among the remarkable species, the giant redwood, transplanted from California in 1883, survived despite weather and lightning. The collections have 6,000 plants, of which 3,000 were documented by Bernard Heitz between 1983 and 2023. The garden celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2024, also marking the 40th anniversary of the AAAJBUS and the title of Strasbourg as the World Capital of the UNESCO Book.

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