The Späth (often spelt ''Spaeth'') family created one of the world's most notable plant
nurseries of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The nursery had been founded in 1720 by
Christoph Späth Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher.
Notable people with the given name Christoph
* Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician
* Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist
* Christoph Dientzenhofe ...
but removed to the erstwhile district of
Baumschulenweg
Baumschulenweg () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Treptow. Its name means road (''weg'') of the plant nurseries (''Baumschulen''). It ...
(lit. 'nursery way'; now part of the
Treptow-Köpenick district) in south-east
Berlin in 1863 when
Franz Ludwig Späth (1839 - 1913) succeeded his father
Ludwig
Ludwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Ludwig (surname), including a list of people
* Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
as manager when aged only 25. By the end of the 19th century, the nursery was the largest in the world, occupying 120
hectares. In 1874 Franz built a mansion on the site, now part of
Humboldt University and, five years later, established an
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
.
After his death in
Britz in 1913, Franz Späth was succeeded by his son,
Hellmut, who revived the nursery's flagging fortunes during the
Depression by joining the
Nazi Party and securing lucrative landscaping contracts for the new autobahns and other public works. However, his outspoken criticism of the Nazi regime saw him incarcerated in
Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he was executed in 1945. The nursery had closed the year before, and in 1947 the arboretum passed into public ownership becoming known as the
Späthsches Arboretum.
">Parc of the Späthsches Arboretum in the Internet City Guide "Berlin Hidden Places"
at www.berlin-hidden-places.de
Owners / proprietors of the Späth nursery, 1720 - 1944
* Christoph Späth (1696-1746)
* Carl Späth (1721-1782)
* Frederick Späth (1768-1831)
* Ludwig Späth Ludwig Späth (1793–1883) was a German botanist and nurseryman. He was father of Franz Ludwig Späth. The Common Lilac cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retai ...
(1793-1883)
* Franz Späth (1839-1913)
* Hellmut Späth (1885-1945)
Notes
External links
* The arboretum and nursery Späth in Baumschulenwe
* The Späthsches Arboretu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spath
German botanists
1839 births
1913 deaths
People from Treptow-Köpenick
Buildings and structures in Treptow-Köpenick