The Forest Botanical Garden Tharandt presents a variety of tree and other plant species on an area of 34 hectares on the slopes of the Kienberg hill. Due to the largely dense vegetation, it is usually enjoyable here also in hot summers, so that even the steep ascents are easy to manage.
The Forest Botanical Garden was founded in 1811 by Heinrich Cotta and Johann Adam Reum. Heinrich Cotta founded a private forestry school in Thuringia in 1785, which moved to Tharandt in 1811. It later became a forestry college and is now part of the Technical University of Dresden. Cotta is considered the "father of sustainable forestry" or even the term sustainability in general. Johann Adam Reum was a teacher at the forestry college.
In 1875 the plan for the creation of the systematic-botanical quarters, which is still valid today, was drawn up. In 1905 the creation of the geographical quarters was started and in 1978 the first detailed records of the plants' origins were compiled. In 2001 the Forest Botanical Garden was declared the Saxon State Arboretum.
The historical eastern part of the garden is 18 ha in size. Many different plant species from all parts of the world can be found here. Furthermore, there is a divided greenhouse with a warm and a cold house in this area, both of which are open to visitors. The museum and forest shop are also located here.
In the new section, which was started in 2001 and covers an area of 15.4 hectares, the focus is not on individual plant species, but on 42 North American forest formations as a whole. The natural dynamics of forests are particularly evident in the species-rich mixed stands of North American forests, where competition is particularly intense.
Both parts of the garden are separated by the Zeisiggrund, which has been spanned by a modern pedestrian bridge since 2003. In 2006, this bridge was awarded the Saxon State Prize for Building Culture.
