The Botanical Garden "Jevremovac" in Belgrade marked the 150th anniversary of its founding tonight with a ceremonial reception attended by a large number of guests from the academic and cultural life of Serbia.

Before the performance of the RTS Jazz Orchestra "Big Band", the Director of the Institute of Botany and the Botanical Garden "Jevremovac" Gordana Subakov Simić addressed the gathering, saying that the Botanical Garden is a place where the paths of enlightenment, science, art and culture intersect. “This is a place where tradition is preserved and nurtured. This is a place where the plant world of Serbia is researched, preserved and restored. Top scientists work in our laboratories, and the botanical garden is also adorned with the first botanical magazine in our region, which will soon be a hundred years old. The Botanical Garden has more than 1.200 plant species in the closed part of the greenhouse, and more than 1.000 woody and herbaceous plant species in the open part, including trees that are more than 180 years old. The Botanical Garden has the world's largest collection of mosses in culture, a collection of vertebrates, algae and various strains of fungi and bacteria, and one of the largest botanical libraries in this part of the world,” said Subakov Simić. She emphasized that the Garden is regularly visited by citizens, organized groups of students of all ages, students, people with special needs, as well as botanists from all over the world, and that more than one hundred thousand people visit it annually.

The Dean of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade, Ljubiša Stanisavljević, recalled that the Botanical Garden was founded on the initiative of Josif Pančić, who, as he stated, believed that botanical science could not be studied without a botanical garden and that it was necessary for practical teaching. “King Milan Obrenović, whose long-standing state policy included the improvement of education, ceded his private land, about five hectares in area, which he inherited from his grandfather Jevrem, to the Great School on August 2, 1889, for the purpose of building a new botanical garden. The only condition was that the garden be named ‘Jevremovac’ in memory of Lord Jevrem Obrenović,” Stanisavljević stated. He added that the Botanical Garden is an integral part of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Belgrade and that, just as Pančić had envisioned, this space today, as before, serves for practical teaching.

“Teachers of the Faculty of Biology, as well as numerous faculties of the University of Belgrade, following the example of Pančić, have the privilege of teaching outside the amphitheatres and practice rooms in the open air and in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden. The open space of the Botanical Garden enables teaching in almost all botanical and many zoological subjects taught at the Faculty of Biology,” Stanisavljević pointed out. He emphasized that “Jevremovac” is under dual protection status due to its natural values ​​and significance in the field of cultural and historical heritage, and that the abundance and diversity of the plant life grown in it influenced its declaration as a natural monument in 1995, and that on the other hand, due to the cultural and historical significance of some of its contents, it has had the status of a cultural monument since 2007.

“Unlike the period when it was founded, the botanical garden is now located in the city center, bordered by some of the busiest streets in Belgrade, and given its location, the urban core, it represents a true green oasis for escaping the city hustle and bustle and numerous visitors,” said Stanisavljević. The Botanical Garden “Jevremovac” was founded in 1874 by decision of the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Serbia, at the proposal of the Serbian physician and botanist Josif Pančić, who was also its first director. It is an integral part of the University of Belgrade, and is entrusted to the management of the Faculty of Biology. It is often called an open-air classroom, and in 1995 it was declared a natural monument of exceptional importance. The glasshouse was built in 1892 and covers an area of ​​500 m2. At the time it was built, it was one of the largest and most beautiful greenhouses in this part of Europe.

The Greenhouse grows numerous tropical and subtropical plant species, including: Phoenix Canariensis, Chamaerops Humilis, Cereus Peruvinianus… The herbarium contains a rich collection of plants from the Balkan Peninsula and all of Europe, which includes about 120.000 herbarium sheets and over 300.000 specimens. The library is one of the oldest and richest in this region. In addition to 200 scientific and professional journals, it also contains over 6.000 books.