The Späth (often spelt ''Spaeth'') family created one of the world's most notable plant nurseries of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The nursery had been founded in 1720 by Christoph Späth but removed to the erstwhile district of

Baumschulenweg Baumschulenweg () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Treptow. Its name means road (''weg'') of the plant nurseries (''Baumschulen''). It ...

(lit. 'nursery way'; now part of the

Treptow-Köpenick Treptow-Köpenick () is the ninth borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick. Overview Among Berlin's boroughs it is the largest by area with the lowest po ...

district) in south-east Berlin in 1863 when Franz Ludwig Späth (1839 - 1913) succeeded his father Ludwig as manager when aged only 25. By the end of the 19th century, the nursery was the largest in the world, occupying 120

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s. In 1874 Franz built a mansion on the site, now part of

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

and, five years later, established an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. After his death in

Britz Britz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Neukölln. History The village of ''Britzig'' was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the site ...

in 1913, Franz Späth was succeeded by his son, Hellmut, who revived the nursery's flagging fortunes during the Depression by joining the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported th ...

and securing lucrative landscaping contracts for the new autobahns and other public works. However, his outspoken criticism of the Nazi regime saw him incarcerated in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

where he was executed in 1945. The nursery had closed the year before, and in 1947 the arboretum passed into public ownership becoming known as the Späthsches Arboretum.
at www.berlin-hidden-places.de

Owners / proprietors of the Späth nursery, 1720 - 1944

* Christoph Späth (1696-1746) * Carl Späth (1721-1782) * Frederick Späth (1768-1831) * Ludwig Späth (1793-1883) * Franz Späth (1839-1913) * Hellmut Späth (1885-1945)

Notes

External links

* The arboretum and nursery Späth in Baumschulenwe

* The Späthsches Arboretu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spath German botanists 1839 births 1913 deaths People from Treptow-Köpenick Buildings and structures in Treptow-Köpenick