Wrocław's Japanese Garden was founded in the years 1909–1913 as an exotic garden for the Centennial Exhibition. It is located in the Śródmieście district of

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, in the boundaries of

Szczytnicki Park Szczytnicki Park in Wrocław, Poland is located to the east of Grunwald Square and the old Oder river, and covers approximately 10 square kilometres of land. The park, besides offering many sightseeing attractions, also has many dendrological ...

, near the

Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (, ) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in Germany * , 1902 * Ce ...

. It is home to almost 270

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

woody plants A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposed to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until s ...

, as well as 78 species of Asian plants, of which 38 are endemic to Japan, such as ''

Styrax japonicus , also known as the Japanese snowbell, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Styracaceae, native species, native to Korea, Japan, and Southern China. Growing to tall by broad, it is a graceful, spreading deciduous tree ...

''. It is an important landmark of Wrocław.

History

The garden has existed since 1913. It was the project of orientalist Baron Fritz von Hochberg, who had an interest in Japanese culture, though the design can be accredited to Japanese gardener Arai Mankichi. In 1995 a major renovation project was undertaken under the direction of professor Ikuya Nishikawa from Tokyo. Next, in 1996–1997, with help from the Japanese Embassy and gardeners from Wrocław and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, work was undertaken to renew the Japanese character of the garden. The work was directed by Yoshiki Takamura. Two months after the grand opening, the garden was ravaged by the

1997 Central European flood The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava (river), Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4. ...

. Another renovation was deemed necessary and the next opening was in 1999.

Sources

{{Wrocław Japanese gardens Gardens in Poland Tourist attractions in Wrocław Parks in Wrocław