Anastasie Fătu Botanical Garden | |
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Grădina Botanică "Anastasie Fătu" | |
Type | Botanical garden, Public park |
Location | Iași, Romania |
Area | 80 ha (200 acres) |
Created | 1856 |
Operated by | Alexandru Ioan Cuza University |
Website | botanica |
The Iași Botanical Garden, now named after its founder, Anastasie Fătu (Romanian: Grădina Botanică "Anastasie Fătu"), is a botanical garden located in the Copou neighbourhood of Iași, Romania. Established in the year 1856 and maintained by the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, it is the oldest and largest botanical garden in Romania.
In 1856, in the immediate vicinity of Râpa Galbenă, Anastasie Fătu founded the Iași Botanical Garden with land bought using his own funds. In 1873, stimulated by interest expressed in Anastasie Fatu's garden, the Physicians and Naturalists Society founded a second botanical garden near the society; the second garden is now the natural history museum.
In 1870, the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy (then University of Iași) created its own botanical garden on a piece of land located behind the University. In 1900, after five years of pleading from Professor Alexandru Popovici, the University asked for land near the Palace of Culture to establish a new botanical garden there. Repeated attempts to obtain the necessary funding to realize this garden proved fruitless. In 1921, Alexandru Popovici organized a new botanical garden on land located at the back of the new university building. This garden served the botanical education over forty years, until 1964, when it was eventually moved to its current location in Copou, under the supervision of Professor Emilian Ţopa.
The Iaşi Botanical Garden is currently involved in the conservation of eighty-five separate species included in the Red Book of the vascular plants from Romania and in the International Conventions. It is also in partnership with in-site conservation programs developed for plants species from the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube Delta. The Botanical Garden co-operates with partners from Romania and abroad. Since 2009, it has been a member of the International Plant Exchange Network.