The city of Witzenhausen, Germany is a small one – but it contains a remote location of the university of Kassel. As a part of this you can find a tropical greenhouse close to the city center often referred to as “Tropengewächshaus” but officially called “Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen” (greenhouse for tropical agricultural crops).
What plants can be seen at the Tropengewächshaus in Witzenhausen?
This limitation is necessary because it tells what you will see here: tropical plants that you know from everyday life. You can see coffee beans and cacao, vanilla and pineapples (did you ever see how they grow?), jackfruits and starfruits, rice, oranges, lemons and grapefruits. The green house consists of three different climate zones.
It is not too big but definitely worth a visit. You can enter for free or join a one hour guided tour for 2.50 Euro per person. You just need to find the right time frame – the green house is open on weekends typically from 2pm to 4pm. Combine a visit of the greenhouse with a walk through the lovely city center of Witzenhausen – they have good coffee bars and ice cream parlors there!
Why is it there?
The Tropengewächshaus in Witzenhausen exists today as a research and educational facility focusing on tropical agriculture and sustainability, but its origins lie in an uncomfortable chapter of German history. It traces back to the Kolonialschule Witzenhausen, founded in 1898 to train young Germans for work in the colonies of the German Empire. Students there learned how to manage plantations, cultivate tropical crops like cocoa or coffee, and oversee agricultural enterprises in far-off lands – skills designed to serve imperial, not humanitarian, objectives. The institution reflected the era’s obsession with expansion and control rather than partnership or cultural respect.
After Germany lost its colonies following the First World War, the Kolonialschule was reoriented toward tropical agriculture in a more neutral scientific sense. Over time, it evolved into a centre associated with the University of Kassel, experimenting with sustainable farming and greenhouse technologies. The Tropengewächshaus itself became a symbol of this modern transformation – a place that now grows tropical plants not for profit or domination, but for understanding and environmental responsibility. Its greenhouses and research projects speak to a shift from exploitation to education.
Yet, walking through the lush vegetation beneath the glass dome, it is difficult to forget that the Tropengewächshaus stands on the foundations of colonial ambition. The legacy of the Kolonialschule reminds us how science and education were once misused to justify injustice. Today, the facility’s best purpose is to confront that history openly and to promote a more equitable global perspective on agriculture – one that values dialogue, sustainability, and shared knowledge over the arrogance of old colonial thinking.
Universität Kassel
Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen
Steinstraße 19
37213 Witzenhausen
Germany
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