University of Helsinki Botanical Garden

The University of Helsinki Botanical Garden is an institution subordinate to the Finnish Museum of Natural History of the University of Helsinki, which maintains a collection of live plants for use in research and teaching. The Botanical Garden has two separate sites: one in Kaisaniemi and one in Kumpula.

The Kaisaniemi Garden is open to the public. Its greenhouse is currently home to more than 800 different species of plants and its grounds to more than 2,800 plants of different origins.

Construction on the Kumpula Garden started in 1987 and opened to the public in 2009.

In 1763, Governor Hans Henrik Böje rented a plot of land from the city of Helsinki bordered by Hämeen maantie (nowadays Siltasaarenkatu) and started a garden on it. In 1773, control of the garden was handed over to gardener Erik Edbom. When Helsinki became the capital in 1812, the garden became a municipal garden. Later on, in 1827, work on transforming the garden into a walking area for the denizens of Helsinki commenced according to plans drawn up by Carl Ludvig Engel. His plans divided the park into two distinct areas: a symmetrical, tree-lined park and a landscaped garden formed by winding paths. In 1829, the walking area was pared back once the Imperial Academy of Turku Botanical Garden moved next to it after the Great Fire hit Turku and the Imperial Academy relocated to Helsinki.

The University of Helsinki Botanical Garden has its roots in the Imperial Academy of Turku Botanical Garden, which was established by Professor Elias Tillandz in 1678. Tillandz’ garden was a small garden for growing cabbages and medicinal plants. After Tillandz’ death, the garden was left to its own demise until Professor Pehr Kalm took responsibility for it. The garden started to flourish as Kalm brought hundreds of useful plants with him from North America. When the Imperial Academy of Turku relocated to Helsinki in 1828, it was allocated a piece of land in Kaisaniemi that had previously served as common pasture for the people of Helsinki. Professor of Zoology and Botany Carl Reinhold Sahlberg started construction on a new garden, relying on his extensive private collection that was not destroyed in the Great Fire of Turku. Head Gardener Franz Faldermann of the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden was commissioned to design the botanical garden. According to his plan, the garden had two separate areas: gardens and a park-like arboretum. He also planned the greenhouse buildings, of which the first was completed in 1832. Sahlberg served as the first head and organizer of the botanical garden, whose ambitious goal was to create collections of all of the plants in Finland and as many of the non-Finnish plants that thrived in Finland.

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Wikipedia