Yesterday, today, tomorrow

The main avenue was created at the beginning of the 19th century when the Botanical Garden was extended to the south-east. Prior to this, the area was grassland, which was only partially cultivated and was probably used for agricultural purposes. Originally, the main avenue was part of a Baroque design, but this was soon transformed into an English landscape garden.

Many of the trees in the garden and along the main avenue date from the period after the Garden was remodelled, i.e. they were planted around 1840. Some trees are even younger and have only been growing here for a few years or decades. Only very few trees from the founding phase of the Botanical Garden (1754 to 1796) have survived to this day. These include a large hybrid plane tree at the Department of Botany (Rennweg 14), where the original entrance to the Botanical Garden was located. The Oriental plane in group 5 may also date back to the 18th century, as does a mulberry tree in group 12, which probably traces its origins back to a planting commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa.

Due to global warming and introduced tree diseases, some trees ‘in their prime’ are dying and need to be replaced. As a result, the Botanical Garden is constantly changing. New plants and display groups are constantly being added to the traces of the historic garden that are still visible today. This means the creation and continuing development of a scientific garden can be traced layer by layer in the Botanical Garden.