The Greifswald Botanical Garden was established in its original form in 1763 by Samuel Gustav Wilke (1736-1790) as a medicinal plant garden between the college building (today: main university building) and city wall laid out. With increasing construction activity in the middle of the 19th century and the associated lack of space in the city center, the garden was moved to its current location on Münterstraße in 1886. Then as now, it is used by the university for academic teaching and by guests as a place to relax. Despite the relocation of the botanical garden, the new location did not offer enough space for a representative stock of trees. In 1934, a separate arboretum was founded on Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Strasse.