The “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden in Iași

The “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden in Iași is celebrating its 170th anniversary — 170 years devoted to science and culture in the service of nature.

Ion Puican, 27.09.2026, 10:41

The “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden in Iași is celebrating its 170th anniversary — 170 years devoted to science and culture in the service of nature. Today, the garden covers almost 90 hectares and is home to thousands of plant species from around the world.

Its story began in 1856, when physician and naturalist Anastasie Fătu bought a plot of land near Iași with his own money and established the first botanical garden in what is now Romania. Fătu was a scientist educated at some of Europe’s leading universities.

Anastasie Fătu, who lived between 1816 and 1886, studied in Vaslui and later in Iași before receiving a scholarship to the University of Vienna, where he earned doctorates in law and medicine. He continued his studies in Paris, qualifying as a physician. After returning to Moldavia, he worked as a hospital doctor and later became chief physician at the “Sfântul Spiridon” Hospital in Iași. He is regarded as Moldavia’s first paediatrician and helped establish the region’s first modern orphanage.

But his contribution went well beyond medicine. Anastasie Fătu wrote Romania’s first university textbook on botany, published in 1877. He served as both a deputy and a senator, presided over the Chamber of Deputies in 1868, and became a full member of the Romanian Academy. The botanical garden he founded only took on its present form in the 1960s, when it was established on Copou Hill, in one of Iași’s historic areas.

We spoke about the Iași Botanical Garden with its director, Professor Cătălin Tănase, a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy:

“On 10 August 1856, the great patriot Anastasie Fătu laid the foundations, using his own financial resources, of a project that would leave its mark on the history of Romanian botany. Over the years, the Botanical Garden of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași has become one of Romania’s leading institutions for education and research.

The Iași Botanical Garden has reinvented itself during every period of its history, thanks to the contribution of generations of botanists and gardeners. This is why it is regarded as a symbol of Iași’s academic and cultural life. Its wide range of scientific themes, its natural setting and the 88 hectares it occupies on Copou Hill make it possible to address complex issues of landscape architecture and the ex-situ conservation of plant diversity from every continent, as well as the conservation of urban biodiversity.

Plant species are organised into sections according to their scientific focus and a number of criteria — biogeographical, systematic, practical or aesthetic. Each section includes species that stand out for different reasons. For their appearance, I would mention the silk tree and the tulip tree, as well as horticultural varieties of roses, dahlias, tulips, daffodils, azaleas, camellias and chrysanthemums.

Other species are notable for their rarity or because they are threatened with extinction. Examples include Metasequoia, Bellevalia sarmatica, the steppe peony and the snake’s-head fritillary. Some are important from a palaeobotanical perspective, among the best known being Ginkgo biloba, or the maidenhair tree.

There is also a cultural dimension. I would mention the shoots or clones originating from Eminescu’s Linden Tree in Copou Garden, a tree designated a natural monument. These are cultivated in the Botanical Garden’s nursery.

The diversity of these collections has made the Botanical Garden a major centre for biodiversity research and conservation in Europe.”

The “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden also has an extensive greenhouse complex, with themed sections devoted to native and exotic flora. There is also a specially designed area for visually impaired visitors, where plants can be “read” through touch and smell. More than 290,000 people visit the garden every year.

Cătălin Tănase:

“The plant species in our scientific collections come from all the world’s biogeographical regions, ranging from tropical species grown in greenhouses to rare plants that have been acclimatised or naturalised in our outdoor collections.

We give priority to the conservation of native species and traditional varieties, as well as rare plants and species affected by overexploitation. These plants have different requirements in terms of soil, temperature, water and light intensity.

Seasonal and long-term monitoring reveals certain changes in some species or horticultural varieties, but these changes are kept under control, particularly in the case of plants grown in greenhouses or polytunnels.”

Today’s cities need places such as botanical gardens. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, they play an important role in shaping our relationship with nature. Professor Cătălin Tănase explains:

“University botanical gardens with a long history, in particular, have become recognised spaces for research, education and for informing members of the public who are interested in understanding and protecting nature.

Plant labels featuring QR codes, information in Braille for visually impaired visitors, explanatory panels accompanying the plants, and digital applications all offer opportunities to discover new aspects of the interaction between people and other living organisms in the urban environment.

Depending on their age, children can discover zoomorphic, phytomorphic and anthropomorphic forms — in other words, topiary created by Botanical Garden staff either from living plants or plant waste. More importantly, they can learn practical skills for looking after plants at home or in their parents’ gardens.

They can also take part in their first lessons in nature, discovering, for example, the fragrance and texture of different plants.”

Finally, we asked director Cătălin Tănase to look ahead and imagine what the “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden might be like 50 or even 100 years from now:

“In these challenging times, everywhere in the world, a few decades — let alone a century — can bring many challenges, some of them impossible to predict, even for the Iași Botanical Garden.

But if we continue to make proper use of all our resources, and above all if future generations serve this institution with the same dedication as those who came before them, I hope the garden will endure and preserve the unique character it has acquired over time.” (MI)