University of Helsinki Botanic Gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Botanical Gardens of the University of Helsinki are a subordinate institution of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, which supports a collection of live plants for scientific study and investigation. The Botanical Gardens are at two sites at Kaisaniemi and Kumpula. The Kaisaniemi Gardens are open to the public; at present the greenhouses contain over 800 different species of plants, and the grounds 2800 plants of different kinds and from various sources.
The construction of the Gardens at Kumpula began in 1987 and they are scheduled to be opened to the public in 2009.
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[edit] History of the Gardens at Kaisaniemi
[edit] Union of the city's two public spaces
In the year 1763 Count Hans Henrik Böje leased a plot of land in the city of Häme (beside Siltasaarenkatu) for the construction of his Gardens. In 1773 they passed under the control of Head Gardener Erik Edbomin. In 1812 they became the municipal gardens of the then-new Finnish capital of Helsinki. Later in 1827 they passed to the ownership of Carl Ludwig Engel who opened them to the public. Engel's scheme divided the park into two distinct areas: a symmetrical, tree-lined path running through landscaped gardens.
[edit] The Public Gardens become part of The Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens were originally established as part of the former Royal Academy of Turku by Elias Tillandz in 1678. At that time the "Gardens" were merely a small collection. After Tillandz' departure, the Gardens were not maintained until the lecturer Pietari Kalm took over responsibility for renovating them. Pietari raised money by growing plants from North America to sell at a profit. When the Academy was transferred to Helsinki in 1828, the Gardens moved to a space reserved in Kaisaniemi, with the intention of creating a new public space. The Professor of Biology and Horticulture Carl Reinhold Sahlberg began laying down new gardens, but the process was stopped by the Great Fire of Turku, in which only a part of the collection was spared. The layout of Pietari's Botanical Gardens were designed by former Head Gardener Franz Faldermann. His plan was also to divide the gardens into two parts, a regular plot for cultivation and an area for a park. He also intended to have a greenhouse, which was only completed in 1832. The project to build a Botanical Garden was led by the first full-time gardener Sahlberg, whose hoarding of every kind of plant he could find, both foreign and domestic, greatly contributed to the collection.
Engel's plans for a wooden main building in the centre of the Gardens were fulfilled in 1831. Jean Wiik completed the building in accordance with the plans in the year 1850. The centre was later moved to a new building on the approach to the Gardens, which it still occupies. Engel later designed a Gothic structure to house stables.
The current design of the Botanical Gardens is due to Gustaf Nyström. Faldermann's original designs for the construction of the greenhouse, which compensated... The plant exhibition was opened later. The Garden centre was opened once more on the West Side. Furthermore, in 1990 the original wooden building was transported outside of Helsinki.
During the Continuation War, two bombs struck the Gardens, and the greenhouse was destroyed. Later, some cypress trees and some young water-lilies which had been left outside were killed when a frost hit the Gardens.
The Gardens were restored and brought up-to-date in the 1950s. The latest restoration took place between 1996 and 1998. The gardens and greenhouse at Kaisaniemi are still open to the public and are also still used as a research station.
