The establishment of the Botanical Garden unit of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw in 1974 was intended to create a model scientific and research facility and a place of education and recreation for the public, it was to be the Central Botanical Garden (COB), the largest in Poland. Ultimately, the Garden was to cover an area of about 200 hectares, and its construction was to be completed in 2000. The first stage of work was to develop 40 hectares on Prawdziwka Street, where administrative, technical and scientific facilities were to be located, while the plant collections were planned to be located on the remaining area. Reality, however, made these far-reaching plans impossible, and the Garden remained at the first and also the last stage of development, i.e. 40 hectares of land, and it remains so today.

Anna Gasek