“A cool head and a sharp axe are needed for a good arboretum,” says head gardener of Botanical Gardens
MúzeumCafé 28.
The first botanical garden in Hungary was founded in 1771 in Nagyszombat (today Trnava, Slovakia) by Jakab Winterl, a professor of chemistry and botany. It was moved several times until it was given its present location in the middle of the 19th century. At that time the site was occupied by the Festetics family’s hunting lodge and comprised land of ten hectares. From the beginning of the last century teaching hospitals appeared and today they take up two-thirds of the area. Thus the Botanical Gardens only occupies three hectares. Initially botanical gardens were established for educational purposes, but later they also played an important role in preserving endangered plants. The flora of five continents is represented in the arboretum, which since 2006 has been a special educational unit of ELTE University, besides being a museum owning several valuable old plants. In addition to historical flora, the collection consists of plants characteristic of Hungary and other regions of the world. At present three greenhouses, a collection house, a building for propagating and a palm house accommodate these special plants. The palm house was built in 1867 with a flat roof and a rear wall without glass. At first it was used as a storeroom, but later flora were added, including subtropical vegetation, large-size palms and tropical cultivated plants. Today there are also five rock gardens. In recent years the Botanical Gardens has undergone many other changes. In 2005 the management together with the university succeeded in preventing its closure. Moreover, the buildings and the whole garden became protected. The biggest change, however, was due to winning EU tenders and as a result almost everything apart from the mansion has been renovated.