Today’s botanical garden among the streets Benátská, Na Slupi, Apolinářská and Viničná had its historical forerunners. The oldest Prague botanical garden was founded by pharmacist Angelo from Florence in the 14th century at the place of today’s main post office in Jindřišská Street. Charles IV used to attend this garden, too. From the year 1600 the Jesuits had a botanical garden in the place of today’s presidency of the government in the Lesser Town (Malá Strana). The garden was sold after the abolition of the Jesuit order. In 1775 Maria Theresa had a new botanical garden established in Smíchov district at the site of present Dientzenhofer Gardens in today’s V Botanice Street, which was later owned by Prague University. However, the garden suffered from floods and industry and it was abolished in 1902. Therefore the state purchased for the Prague University the former Společenská Garden, which had been located at the site of present Botanical Garden Na Slupi since 1845 and had already had a complex of greenhouses built as exhibition pavilions since 1882. The Společenská Garden was founded by Czech Society for Cultivation of Horticulture (Česká společnost pro zvelebování zahradnictví). In the years 1897 and 1898 the mobile collections were moved there from Smíchov and new greenhouses were built. The botanical garden was then divided between the Czech and German parts of the university. Both parts were ceremonially opened in 1898. New expositions, an arboretum, greenhouses and ponds were built gradually.
