Mark this spot. We are standing before the Jacquin-Platane Stone. It is a memorial to a man and a tree. This stone marks a place of botanical history in Vienna. It commemorates Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin.
Jacquin was no ordinary man. Born in Leiden in 1727, he excelled in science. His fields included medicine, chemistry, and botany. Imagine a mind that could master all three. He eventually made his way to Vienna. There he studied under Gerard van Swieten.
Between 1755 and 1759, Jacquin explored the West Indies. He also ventured into Central America, Venezuela, and New Granada. Francis I sent him to collect plants for the Schönbrunn Palace. He gathered a vast collection of animal, plant, and mineral specimens. Alexander von Humboldt later studied these collections. He spoke with Jacquin before his own journey to the Americas.
In 1763, Jacquin became a professor. He taught chemistry and mineralogy at the Bergakademie Schemnitz. Today, it is Banská Štiavnica in Slovakia. By 1768, he was back in Vienna. He became Professor of Botany and Chemistry. He also directed the botanical gardens of the University of Vienna.
His work earned him the title Edler in 1774. In 1783, he gained foreign membership in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He became a baron in 1806. Then, in 1809, he became a correspondent of the Royal Institute. This later became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Jacquin’s family had connections to Mozart. His younger son, Emil Gottfried, and daughter, Franziska, were Mozart’s friends. Mozart wrote two songs for Gottfried. He also gave piano lessons to Franziska. Mozart dedicated many works to the Jacquin family, including the Kegelstatt Trio. The family first played this piece at their house in 1786. Franziska played the piano.
His son Joseph Franz succeeded him. He became professor of botany and chemistry at the University of Vienna. Joseph Franz also wrote several important botanical books. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin died in Vienna in 1817.
Jacquin is remembered in botanical names. The genera Jacquinia and Jacquiniella bear his name. In 2011, the Austrian Mint issued silver coins. These coins marked his science expeditions to the Caribbean.
From 1770 to 1839, the Jacquins, father and son, directed the Botanical Garden. They established its worldwide reputation. The Jacquin fountain and grove commemorate these two men. Sarah Glaser designed them in 2011. She was a student in the landscape design class at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna. The Garden’s staff erected them.
The two original gravestones now in the Jacquin grove have a history. They were moved from Waldmüllerpark in 1977. This marked the 250th anniversary of Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin’s birth. The graves themselves were not preserved.
The gravestones are made of sandstone. One inscription honors Nikolaus Joseph. It calls him an “untiring natural scientist” and “foremost among the botanists of his time.” It notes his brilliance, learning, and humanity. It mentions his dedication to the Emperor, fatherland, muses, and friends. The inscription states he was born in Leiden in 1727 and died in Vienna in 1817.
The other gravestone honors Joseph Franz. It calls him the heir to his father’s virtue and glory. The inscription mentions his teaching of Austria’s botanists and chemists for half a century. It describes him as a man of talent, learning, and gentle manners. The inscription says he was born in Schemnitz in Hungary in 1766 and died in Vienna in 1839.
And what about the Jacquin-Platane itself? The inscription on the stone tells us that the Jacquin-Platane (Platanus X acerifolia) was planted around 1780. This was during Jacquin’s time as director. It stands as a living monument. It connects us to a man who shaped botany in Vienna and beyond.