The Main Campus

Greenery at the historic Main Campus at 26/28 Krakowskie Przedmieście is beautiful. A hundred species of trees, including exotic ones, and over 120 shrubs decorate the area.

 

 

The UW Library garden

In 2002, a garden was opened on the University of Warsaw Library roof measuring over 1 ha in surface. It is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe and is accessible through a so-called entry garden, namely a gently sloped surface with planted vegetation. The roof garden is divided into two parts: the upper and the lower part, which are joined by a cascading stream.

 

The lower part includes amongst others a fish pond, where ducks have taken residence, as well as a series of granite sculptures by Ryszard Stryjecki on cosmological themes. The upper garden comprises of four parts: the golden part (to the north), the silver part (to the east), the crimson part (to the south) and the green part (to the west). Each one features different vegetation whose colours reflect their names.

 

Individual sections of the garden are connected by paths, bridges and pergolas. The rooftop is also an ideal viewing point of Warsaw’s panorama as well as the library interiors. The upper garden is open to the public from April to October; the lower garden is open all year round.

 

 

The UW Botanic Garden

The spectacularly beautiful Botanic Garden is located at 4 Aleje Ujazdowskie. Established in 1818 by the distinguished botanist Michał Szubert, it is one of the oldest institutions of this type in Poland. It covers 5.16 hectares and its collection includes 5,000 species and varieties of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

 

It is divided into subject-related sections: arboretum (trees and shrubs), creepers, various climate plants, therapeutic and practical application plants, roses, Polish lowland flora, decorative plants, plant systematics and greenhouses. The incredible diversity of the collections is one of the main advantages of the garden. Plants typical for the Polish landscape may be admired here although the garden also does not lack in exotic plants such as sub-tropical ferns or American cacti. Publication of a catalogue of seeds (Index seminum et sporarum) contributes to the expansion of the collection through exchange of seeds with botanic gardens all over the world.