Medicinal Plant Garden of the Medical University in Wrocław

The Medicinal Plant Garden of the Medical University in Wrocław is a scientific, research and teaching institution with botanical garden status, founded on Kochanowskiego avenue on the outskirts of Wielka Wyspa. It occupies a plot of 25,000 square metres and forms part of the university's Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Botany.

History and purpose

The garden was established in 1946 on the initiative of Professor of Botany Józef Mądalski. It was created on the site of the former property of Dr Paul Rüster, a botanist. From the outset its purpose was to carry out phytochemical research and research into the use of plants in medicine. The garden, together with the villa preserved on its grounds, has been entered in the heritage register under number A/1388/593/Wm since 28 December 2000.

Six scientific sections

The garden is divided into six sections: an alpinarium with mountain plants, an arboretum, an experimental section with Far Eastern plants, a section of tropical and subtropical plants grown in greenhouses, a section of herbal raw materials and spices, and a systematics section. The collection contains around 1,900 species and varieties of plants in total, of which about 400 are in the greenhouses. Pharmacopoeial plants, that is those used in medicine and recognised by the pharmacopoeia, occupy 5,000 square metres here.

A fragment of former riparian forest

Part of the site has retained the character of a natural riparian habitat from around 150 years ago, with the valley of the Czarna Woda stream and old trees: elms, ashes and oaks. Five natural monuments grow on the garden's grounds, including a silver lime, a western elm and a black poplar.

Practical information

• Address: Al. Kochanowskiego 10-14, 51-601 Wrocław, at the junction with Wojciecha z Brudzewa street
• Visiting the garden requires arranging a date in advance with the administration, it is worth checking the current rules on the institution's website before your visit
• Nearby are Szczytnicki Park, the Japanese Garden and the Four Domes Pavilion
• Also not far from here to the Centennial Hall