The Alter Botanischer Garten is a verdant oasis at the heart of the city, with exotic trees and an impressive Neptune fountain.
The small park is situated on Lenbachplatz, and can be reached quickly from the pedestrian zone and the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). The garden was opened at the beginning of the 19th century, in 1812, when it was intended to also play a scientific role as Munich’s first botanical garden. The site’s design was based on plans drawn up by Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, who was also responsible for the Englischer Garten.
The gate created by Portuguese master builder Emanuel Herigoyen in the eastern section has a typical early Classicist style, and is still evocative of the first few years of the park’s history. At that time, the garden also contained greenhouses for tropical plants and a chemical laboratory. However, the entrance gate is the only structure in the Alter Botanischer Garten that survives from the time the park was founded.
Space soon became a problem in the city centre location, and so the Neuer Botanischer Garten (New Botanical Garden) was created in the Schlosspark Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace Gardens) between 1910 and 1914. The Alter Botanischer Garten has been a city park since 1937. The monumental Neptune fountain was erected in the centre of the garden in the same year.
Tip: The Alter Botanischer Garten park café also has a beer garden which – as is customary in Munich – permits visitors to bring their own food with them.
