History
The Botanical School Garden in Chemnitz was founded in 1898 according to plans by garden director Otto Werner and school headmaster Paul Säurich. The garden was originally only 1 hectare in size and was extended to 1.75 hectares in 1933 with the addition of the orchard.
The aim was to create a botanical-biological educational garden. For this reason, the plants were divided into more than 50 groups such as dye plants, medicinal plants, conifers and others. From the very beginning of the botanical school garden, the managers endeavoured to divide the plants according to natural plant communities.
1898 | Foundation of the botanical garden by garden director Otto Werner and school director Paul Säurich |
1933 | Expansion to 1.75 hectares through the creation of an orchard and construction of a small greenhouse |
1938 | The first administration building is built, today's Aquarium House. |
1950s | The facility damaged during the war is restored, the first working groups are set up in the "Station Junger Naturforscher". The animal enclosures are modernised. |
1975 | Completion of the new main building |
1989 | Start of the establishment of a botanical garden for the presentation of Central European flora in the form of a near-natural design of natural plant communities, in addition to the "Young Naturalists' Station". |
1991 | Conversion of the "Station Junger Naturforscher" into a school biology centre and foundation of the nature conservation centre, which was later continued by the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). |
1996 | Merger of the three sections under the name "Chemnitz Botanical Garden, School Biology and Nature Conservation Centre" |
1998 | Centennial celebration of the centre's existence, opening of a new greenhouse. It now contains succulent plants and plants from the Mediterranean region. |
2002 | With the inauguration of the new tropical house, a further attraction for visitors was created on the grounds of the Botanical Garden. |
Today | the facility is the largest association platform in the city of Chemnitz. Together with the associations and the school biology centre, the Botanical Garden organises over 1000 events every year, which are attended by around 60,000 people. |