Rennsteiggarten Oberhof, Alpine botanical garden in Oberhof, Germany.
Rennsteiggarten Oberhof is a seven-hectare botanical garden for mountain flora on the Pfanntalskopf ridge at 868 metres, laid out around a former quarry near Oberhof. It holds almost 4,000 plant species from the mountains of Europe, Asia, North and South America, New Zealand and the Arctic, including gentians, primulas, edelweiss and alpine roses.
This garden was founded in 1970 on the grounds of a former quarry through cooperation between the Cultural Federation and the University of Jena. Its initial plant collection came from the Botanical Garden in Jena.
The garden features a section dedicated to Thuringian herbs where regional plant species grow that have long been part of the local landscape. Visitors can observe how these plants connect to the natural heritage of central Germany.
The garden is open daily during the warmer months with guided tours and educational programs available. Wear sturdy footwear since the grounds are varied in terrain with pathways leading through different plant zones.
The summit of the Pfanntalskopf, at 868 metres, is one of the few peaks in the Thuringian Forest reachable without a motor and without much risk of falling, thanks to a step-free loop path built between 1992 and 2005 by trainees retraining as landscape gardeners. The last section opened in 2005.
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