Amsterdam Botanical Garden , or Orthus Botanicus ( lat. Hortus Botanicus "Botanical Area") - Botanical Garden in Amsterdam , the Netherlands . One of the oldest tourist attraction in the world.
Located in the prestigious area Plantag (Plantage).
Amsterdam Botanical Garden was founded in 1638 and served as a herbal garden for doctors and pharmacists. He constantly expanded and finally in 1877 became the property of the University of Amsterdam . In 1987 , the garden was on the verge of bankruptcy when the university stopped paying its expenses, but numerous individual supporters prevented its closure. Now Orthus Botanicus is supported by the Amsterdam City Council.
Botanical Garden is now one of the attractions of the Dutch capital. His collection is famous for its numerous species of trees and plants, some of which are in danger. This collection has been replenished since the 17th century by plants and seeds brought in by traders from the East India Company . It was used as a medicine and often served as raw material for future trade. So, one coffee tree, ( Arabian coffee ), from the garden collection became the ancestor of coffee cultures in Central and South America.
In addition, two small Shrovetide palm trees , brought by the East India Company from the island of Mauritius, produced seeds that were distributed throughout Southeast Asia, becoming the main source of income for the Dutch East India Company and now Indonesia.
In 1885 - 1918, the director of the garden was the famous biologist scientist Hugo de Vries .
The latest additions to the garden include huge greenhouses with three different tropical climatic conditions.