Sárvár Arboretum

Sárvár, Hungary, Hungary

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Sárvár Arboretum is one of Hungary’s oldest botanical collections, located in the heart of Sárvár next to Nádasdy Castle, covering 9.2 hectares under national protection as part of Őrség National Park.

Its predecessor was founded in 1546 as a fruit and vegetable garden, flourishing until 1671 when owner Ferenc Nádasdy III was beheaded for rebelling against the Habsburgs, causing the garden to decline until Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este purchased the estate in 1803 and transformed most of it into an impressive English landscape garden. After World War II, the local forest agency took over management, major restoration work was completed, and the National Environmental Council granted it protected status in 1952.

Today the arboretum houses approximately 300 tree and shrub species and is divided into two main parts: a 200-year-old landscape park featuring ancient European yews, Japanese pagoda trees, plane trees, black pines, bully trees, and magnolias, plus a remnant of original wooded pasture with 400-year-old oaks stretching around a fishpond. The Gyöngyös Stream bisects the nature reserve, eventually flowing into the Rába river, and the arboretum offers quiet paths through groves perfect for rejuvenation.