Sárvár Arboretum

The Sárvár Arboretum is one of Hungary's oldest collections, and among the arboretums of Vas County, the earliest written records can be found in Sárvár. The predecessor of the current arboretum was established in 1546 as an orchard and vegetable garden. Gardening flourished until 1671, when Ferenc III Nádasdy, the then Chief Justice, was executed for his involvement in the Wesselényi Conspiracy, and his estates were confiscated. This led to the decline of the renowned garden, but a few fruit trees and interspersed oaks preserved the memory of its beginnings. In 1803, the castle garden came into knowledgeable hands once again. Archduke Ferdinand of Este-Modena, a member of the Habsburg family, purchased the castle along with its surrounding lands. It was a challenging yet rewarding task to recreate the old garden, which had fallen into ruin, on its original foundations. Part of the area was replanted with orchards, while the rest gradually transformed into an English-style park, preserving the ancient oaks and old trees. The plane trees from the first planting in 1812 now have trunk diameters exceeding three metres. In line with the fashion of the time, yews, Japanese pagoda trees, and limes were predominantly planted. The Gyöngyös Stream, which flows through the area, and the fishpond helped maintain a favourable climate for the park's plants and ensured a constant groundwater level.