Old Botanical Garden Zurich

When it no longer seemed necessary to defend the city militarily, the bulwark was slowly dismantled from 1835 onwards. The former defensive structure was promptly given another use: it became a green garden. The doctor and naturalist Johannes Gessner created a botanical garden in collaboration with the "Natural Research Society of Zurich", founded in 1746.

The old botanical garden, which has existed since 1833, is located at the former “zur Katz” bulwark (Quartier City, Kreis 1). In 1977 a new facility was opened on Zollikerstrasse (Quartier Weinegg, District 8) with the Institute for Systematic Botany of the University of Zurich.

The botanical garden is located on a moraine hill. At its highest point there is a medieval herb garden.