Medicinal garden

The Hortus was established in 1638 as the Hortus Medicus, a medicinal herb garden. Herbs were of vital importance, serving as the raw materials for medicines. At the Hortus, physicians and apothecaries studied medicinal plants, and apothecaries also sat their examinations there.

In 1646, Johannes Snippendaal was appointed as prefect. He was the first to officially document the entire collection of the Hortus, producing the first catalogue of the Hortus Medicus Amsterdam. He recorded 796 different plant species—mainly medicinal plants, but also many ornamental varieties. 

In the garden, there is section called Snippendaal Garden, all the plants currently found in this section were listed in 1646 and thus already part of the original Hortus Medicus. Nothing is known about the garden’s original layout. Landscape architects SB4 have created a contemporary design that references the formal, rectangular beds of the 17th century Click here for the original plant list of the Snippendaal catalogue.