Kaunas Botanical Garden

Kaunas Botanical Garden
Type	Botanical
Location	Kaunas, Lithuania
Coordinates
Area	62.5 ha
Opened	1923
Owned by	Vytautas Magnus University
Status	Open
Website	http://botanika.vdu.lt/en/

File:Freda09.jpg

The pond in the Kaunas Botanical Garden

Kaunas Botanical Garden also known as the Kaunas Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuanian: Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Kauno botanikos sodas; Latin: Hortus Botanicus Kaunensis Universitati Vytauti Magni), is a botanical garden in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is located in the south of the center of Kaunas city in Freda district. With an area of 62.5 ha (154 acres) it is the second largest in Lithuania.

About Garden

Kaunas Botanical Garden was founded in 1923 as the centre of botanical sciences that belonged to Lithuanian (later Vytautas Magnus) University. Spacious green area with the old park, picturesque ponds and several buildings of the former estate of Juozapas Godlevskis (Aukstosios Fredos estate) was provided for establishing botanical garden at that time. Professor Constantin Regel from Tartu University was invited to direct Kaunas Botanical Garden. The detailed project for the garden landscape was made in 1924 by architect Karol Rauth from Hanover. With the help of other botanical gardens, especially Berlin's Dahlem, Konigsberg and St. Petersburg's Kaunas Botanical Garden built up very rapidly. The construction of the Greenhouse was finished in 1938.

Presently, Kaunas Botanical Garden occupies the area of 62.5 ha close to the city center. It is multifunctional university botanical garden that consists of two departments: Collection Department and Department of Services and Innovations. Collection Department is divided into four sectors — Medicinal Plants, Dendrology, Pomology, and Floriculture — and Plant Systematics and Phytopathology groups.

The unique feature of this garden is peaceful and green environment created by an advantageous combination of cultural and natural heritage. Botanical expositions and collections, the Greenhouse, big landscape park with an interesting pond system – this is not only place for plant conservation and research but also area for all modern forms of interactive education, cultural tourism and community use. Kaunas Botanical Garden accepts more than 60 thousands visitors per year.

Kaunas Botanical Garden is a member of the Lithuanian Association of University Botanical Gardens (LAUBG), Association of the Baltic Botanic Gardens (ABBG), and the Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI).

Directors

2

Collections

Accession Number: 9644

Cultivation Taxa Number: 4823

Special Collections: number of species and intraspecific taxa – 4026; number of cultivated plants varieties – 4823. Rosa – 720, Dahlia – 547, Tulipa – 356, Hosta – 232, Paeonia – 210, Hemerocallis – 208, Astilbe – 115, Aster – 107, Lilium – 204 collection numbers.

External links

• Official website
• Kaunas Botanical Garden on BGCI