Jardin Botanique, Strasbourg

The Strasbourg Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanique de Strasbourg) on Goethe Street dates to 1619. It is France's second oldest botanical garden after Montpellier, situated on the former Saint-Nicolas-aux-Ondes convent cemetery.

Originally called Krutenau, meaning "plain of cabbage," the site is now Place de l'Ecole des Arts Decoratifs. Once overseen by the medical faculty, it had 1600 plant species. The French Revolution led to the university's closure in 1792. Director Jean Hermann protected the garden and hid Strasbourg Cathedral statues there.

In 1870, during the German siege of Strasbourg, the garden became an unintended cemetery. By 1871, the region was under German control. In 1880, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany initiated the restoration of the Université Impériale. This led to the formation of new facilities including an observatory, a zoological museum, and the present botanical garden. Supervised by botanist Heinrich Anton de Bary, the garden was founded on the old city walls. It officially opened in 1884 with impressive greenhouses.

After World War I in 1919, the garden came under French control. A hailstorm destroyed many greenhouses in 1958, leaving only the Bary Greenhouse designed by architect Hermann Eggert. In 1963, preservation work began on the Bary Greenhouse, and new ones were built in 1967.

Today, the garden is home to approximately 15,000 specimens representing over 6,000 plant species. It is overseen by the University of Strasbourg and is organized into nine sections surrounding the Institute of Botany. These sections include an arboretum, tropical and cold greenhouses, the Bary Greenhouse, a grasses greenhouse, a pond, a systematic garden, ecological plantings, and a section dedicated to useful plants.

Tip:
There are plenty of benches to sit, but they are quite a distance from the entrance to the garden.