Exotenwald Weinheim

The arboretum was established in 1871 by Christian Friedrich Gustav Freiherr von Berckheim (1817–1889), former Minister of State and Großhofmeister at the court in Karlsruhe, on the grounds of a baroque estate founded in 1725.

Although the climate has not proved entirely hospitable, and the original catalog of 150 species has subsequently dwindled to about 50, many mature specimens still remain, including original plantings of Calocedrus decurrens, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Pinus jeffreyi, Pinus ponderosa, and Thuja plicata.

After Gustav's death, the arboretum was neglected for several decades until his grandson, Christian Philipp Graf von Berckheim, became owner.

He planted a further 8.25 hectares of exotic trees, with plantings in the years before World War II focused primarily on East Asia and especially Japan, including specimens of Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Cryptomeria japonica, and Magnolia hypoleuca.

Since then, it has been augmented with South American and New Zealand plantings, with continued expansion of its European, Asian, North American, and North African collections, and an emphasis on trees from China and Korea.