Jardin d'altitude du Haut Chitelet
The Jardin d'altitude du Haut Chitelet is a botanical garden specializing in high-altitude plants, maintained by the Jardin botanique du Montet and the Conservatoire et Jardins Botaniques de Nancy. It is located at about 1220 metres altitude on the Route des Crêtes, about 1 km south of the Col de la Schlucht in Vosges, Lorraine, France, and open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.
The garden was first established in 1903 by Professor Camille Brunotte of the Nancy-Université, and grew from 120 species in 1904 to 800 species in 1914, but unfortunately was destroyed in World War I. In 1954 the Office national des forêts donated a second plot of 11 hectares to the university to restart the garden. Plantings began in 1966 with the new garden opening in 1970. It has subsequently been named a Jardin Remarquable by the ministry of culture.
Today the garden contains more than 2700 plant varieties with a particular focus on the Vosges and the mountains of France, but containing plants from mountainous regions of America, Japan, China, the Himalayas, the Caucasus, Siberia, and New Zealand. Plants are arranged geographically.
