The Botanical Garden “Dimitrie Brândză” of UB Celebrates 160 Years of Existence

During its over 160 years of existence, the Botanical Garden “D. Brândză” has fostered interaction, creation of knowledge and specific botanical research. Its flora range exceeds 300.000 different plant species and its land area spreads over 18 hectares.

In 1855, the academician and physician Carol Davila, the Director of the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy, advised Prince Barbu Știrbei to establish a botanical garden and that was the beginning of the UB’s Botanical Garden. 5 years later, on the 5^th of November 1860, the Romanian Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza signs the decree to finance the establishment of the UB’s Botanical Garden. Upon its establishment, the botanical garden had a low budget, of 1,000 Ducati, and covered a rather small land area (of around 7 ha). As today, it was placed between the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy and the Palace of Cotroceni (former Cotroceni Hill, soon to become place for the royal palace). The reputed botanist Ulrich Hoffmann, the first director of the botanical garden, designed this institution as a centre for research and education.

The mission of the Botanical Garden is both didactic and scientific, promoting preservation of flora diversity, ecological education, tourism and recreation. The Botanical Garden owns flora collections of both greenhouse and field, and herbariums, all of which are scientifically documented and excellently labelled. These collections of herbariums are aimed for student teaching purposes and can be used for scientific research purposes, for phitodiversity preservation, environmental education and public information.

The name of the Botanical Garden “Dimitrie Brândză” honours the memory of Dimitrie Brândză and his diligence in establishing the botanical garden into its current location, his commitment and toil to found this botanical garden, which became a priceless inheritance.

The greenhouse and field flora collections sheltered into the different sectors of the botanical garden had about 3,500 taxonomic units, at the end of 2016. The General Herbarium preserves more than 300.000 flora species, which are currently going through a new inventory process and input into a main database, which will enable access to all information about them. In addition, smaller sized herbariums are displayed into the Museum of the Botanical Garden. The Angiolina Santocono Herbarium Collection is the most important of the whole Museum, which has over 2,400 watermarked flora paintings.

Those keen on finding out more on our Botanical Garden can click here for more information on its main attraction areas, the visiting schedule and ticket prices. On the same page, you can also watch an introductory video about the Botanical Garden.

Important Historical Facts

• Back in 1874, the UB’s Botanical Garden was formerly located into the city centre, covering a certain land area of the Vasile Șuțu Palace domain. At the time, it was located right in front of the University of Bucharest Palace building. The Botanical Garden became a division of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Bucharest. Professor D. Brândză was the first administrator of the newly established Botanical Garden.
• In 1884, upon repeated requests of Professor D. Brândză, the Botanical Garden is provided with the much needed financing and land areas, the UB’s Botanical Garden, situated on the nowadays location, starts to transform into the institution it is today.
• The first greenhouses were built in 1891. The Botanical Institute was built the same year and sheltered the Biology School, the Herbarium and the Museum. Unfortunately, the institute was bombed on the 4^th of April 1944, being seriously damaged.
• A new Botanical Institute was established in 1960, on the premises of the Botanical Garden, which currently shelters the Botanical & Microbiology and the Genetics Departments. The General Herbarium was also sheltered into this institute until 2005.
• The Exhibition Greenhouse, covering an area of about 2500 sq. m was established between 1973 and 1976.
• The Museum of the Botanical Garden was established in 1978, on a land area which complied with all ecologic requirements.
• Upon the first National Session of Scientific Communications of the Botanical Garden, in 1994, it was decided that the institute would bear the name of its founder, the Professor Dimitrie Brândză.
• A certain range of buildings was revamped between 2007 and 2014. A building unit of the Old Greenhouse and seven units of the Exhibition Greenhouses are only some of the Botanical Garden building units to have been restored.
• Some infrastructure and landscape developments were implemented between 2016 and 2020. Some of these developments were the revamping of the Italian Garden, of the waterfall, of the walking-alleys, the replacement of the rose garden arch trellises, the building of new resting benches and many more.
• In 2020, the administrative building received European funds for restoration.