Petition to preserve University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana, which has been operating since 1810.
Dear, with the petition Let's preserve the University Botanic Garden of Ljubljana, we want to preserve the historic Botanic Garden and realize its expansion in a new location. The University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana has been operating continuously since 1810. This is the second time that Slovenian Railways has cut the Botanic Garden since 1974. At that time, the garden lost 0.3 ha of land, and with this it was deprived of the possibility of expansion in this place. The construction of the second track to Ivančna Gorica will again take away a significant part of the land from the garden along the entire length of the track, which runs along one of the longest sides of the garden. The construction thus destroy the old administrative building from 1897, which today houses a valuable garden library and the Primula tea house, where visitors to the garden can take a break and refresh themselves and thus enjoy the Garden for a longer time. The Garden will lose some of the oldest trees: Metasequia glyptostroboides, which represents one of the first genotypes that arrived in Europe and, according to experts of this species, is truly unique. The oldest Ginkgo biloba in Slovenia from the very beginnings of the garden, a series of old trees from the genus Abies and many other equally valuable trees for the Garden in this part will fall. All Japanese cherries are also falling, a gift from the State of Japan in 1999.
In 1974, a written commitment was given (documents signed, plans drawn up) for a new Botanic Garden under Rožnik on Večna pot, where the faculty campus is today. The greenhouse and the entrance building, which had already been built, were demolished during the Covid-19 pandemic and the building of the National Institute of Biology, which was opened this year, was built there. The garden thus lost all the facilities already built for it on this site. Please support our Botanic Garden! Other solutions are possible that do not cut the Garden, and at the same time we demand that at the new location, where a new and expanded Botanic Garden is foreseen in the plans of the city of Ljubljana, this should be realized as soon as possible by the construction of new buildings intended for the garden.
Universtiy Botanic Gardens is protected as Cultural Monument of National Importance (Odlok o razglasitvi Botaničnega vrta v Ljubljani za kulturni spomenik državnega pomena, Uradni list RS, št. 103/2008) and as natural attraction (Odlok o razglasitvi Ljubljanskega botaničnega vrta za naravno znamenitost, Uradni list RS, št. 8/91), but sadly its seems like this is not important enough.
This is display of the plots that are in the property of Republic Slovenia, Slovenian railways and MOL (The city municipality of Ljubljana) that can be used as place for the second track. In this scenario our gardens will not be destroyed. From Orlova cesta, everything would have to be done only on the other side of the track. It would be only necesary to move road, that goes from house (Dolenjska cesta 14- plot 1695 644/33 and 1695 644/34, that are property of Slovenian railways) and also existing track can be moved futher of botanic gardens. In this scenario Botanic Gardens could also get back the land that was lost in the 1974. Since then there is a lot of unused land. The second railway track could completely avoid reduction of the Botanic Gardens. In addition, the plots on the other side are already all properly owned, as mentioned earlier.
University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana Contact the author of the petition