Plant Ecology

History

Until the Fichtenberg was partitioned for construction in 1873, the property of the Institute of Ecology belonged to the Steglitz estate for more than 70 years. Until about 1770, meadows and pasture land existed here; later an orchard and the park-like part of the estate garden extended to the hill of the Fichtenberg. The oldest trees in the garden date from this time.

In 1873, the banker Henoch had a classicist country house and a farm building in half-timbered style built on the property. The garden was designed in the style of historicism in the spirit of Lenné's student Gustav Meyer (1816-1877). A circular path opened up the park-like landscape; smaller paths led to more hidden corners of the garden. The original design is still recognizable in the overall structure today.

The country house was replaced in 1909 by a magnificent villa of today's dimensions. The design came from Paul Baumgarten (1873-1946). In 1922, the estate was transferred to the ownership of the general director of the Deutsche Erdöl-AG, Dr. Middendorf. His widow sold the house to the Nazis in 1933. During the Third Reich, the property was used by the SS. During this time, a garage house, a bunker and a canteen wing, which no longer exists today, were built. After 1945, the property was in American use and in the early 1950s passed to the State of Berlin, which in turn gave it to the TU Berlin. This was the beginning of the history of the Institute of Ecology at the Rothenburgstraße site.

Foundation of the first Ecology Institute in Germany

In December 1955, the Institute of Applied Botany of the Faculty of Agriculture under the direction of U. Berger-Landefeldt moved into the building. The mansard roof of the villa, which had been badly damaged during the war, was replaced by a pitched roof. The terrace was converted into a seminar room. Furthermore, the building was equipped with a lecture hall and several laboratories. A greenhouse was built on the garden grounds. The foyer with its representative staircase has been preserved in its original state.

The Department of Applied Botany was taken over by Reinhard Bornkamm in 1968 and later became the Department of Botany. In 1973, together with the Institutes of Soil Science and Ornamental Horticulture, the first Institute of Ecology in Germany was founded. This was joined in 1974 by the Department of Ecosystem Research and Vegetation Science, headed by Herbert Sukopp, and in 1975 by the Department of Bioclimatology, headed by Manfred Horbert. From the beginning, the focus was on urban ecology research. In 1997, the Departments of Botany and Ecosystem Research/Vegetation Science were combined to form the Department of Ecosystem Science/Plant Ecology. It was headed by Ingo Kowarik from 1999 to 2021. In 2018, the department of planning-related animal ecology was added under the leadership of S. Kramer-Schadt.

History of the garden

When the TU Berlin moved in, "nothing but a desert" was left of the original garden, in the words of the head of the department, Prof. Berger-Landefeldt. The head of the TU Institute of Garden Art, Prof. Allinger, was commissioned with the redesign. He realized the best draft of a student design seminar, namely the creation of a phytosociological education garden, taking into account elements of the typical garden design of the 19th century. The aim of the design was to create different types of vegetation in a very small space. This included a Central European beech forest, a sub-Mediterranean area with Cotinus coggygria, Fraxinus ornus and Ostrya carpinifolia, and an alpine canopy.

With the beginning of urban ecology research under Bornkamm and Sukopp, from 1973 the garden was further developed into a unique natural garden for ecological research and teaching. Elements of the phytosociological teaching garden were included. The lawns, for example, were transformed into meadows; native as well as rare and endangered species were introduced into the garden.

Due to its special design quality as a teaching and research garden, the site was designated as a garden monument in 1998.