This monument has a double life: the bust before you is a replacement, while the original was taken indoors in 2001 for conservation after years of decline. The monument honours Carl Linnaeus, and it was unveiled on 23 May 1871. Stand still beside the pedestal for a moment and notice how deliberately formal the whole composition feels.
Albert Rachner created the original as a closely observed sandstone portrait bust, set on a two-metre brick base with classical styling. The word “Linné” appears on the pedestal, while a second inscription identifies Moritz Wesel, who funded the monument in 1870. War left the sculpture slightly damaged, and Antonio Comolli later restored the missing parts of the bust.
When the original was removed for protection, Professor Bohdan Chmielewski made the new outdoor sculpture now standing here. This is an especially fitting meeting point for Linnaeus: the monument stands in the Botanical Garden’s plant-systematics section, where several garden paths come together. His image marks a place devoted to arranging and understanding the variety of plants around you.
