The Arboretum Kalmthout is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Kalmthout Kalmthout () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Kalmthout, Achterbroek, Heide, and Nieuwmoer. In 2021, Kalmthout had a population of 19,020. The total area is . In addition to Kalmth ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It was started as a

tree plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

by Charles Van Geert in 1856. Van Geert developed a collection of rare plants and trees before selling the property after 40 years to Antoine Kort. Kort added an extensive collection of Hamamelis or witch hazel to the nursery, but was forced to close his business due to the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1952, the property was purchased by the brothers Georges and Robert de Belder, to save it from being destroyed by a housing development. At the site, the year that they purchased the property, the de Belder brothers founded the International Dendrology Society (IDS) to promote preservation and conservation of rare or endangered woody plants. Robert de Belder and his wife, Jelena de Belder-Kovačič worked together to build an internationally known arboretum, where plant enthusiasts could study and exchange knowledge and information about plants. In 1986 it became property of the

Antwerp province ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

and is now open to public.

References

External links

Official website
Botanical gardens in Belgium Geography of Antwerp Province Tourist attractions in Antwerp Province Kalmthout Arboreta {{arboretum-stub

See also

References

External links