Kecskemét Arboretum

Kecskemét is the town with the highest population in the Kiskunsag region. The young, developing arboretum can be found in its North-Easteren part.

Dr. Antal Gőbölös initiated the creation of the arboretum, the development plans were mad be Győző Mészöly and the implementation was directed at the beginning by László Ván, all Bedő-prize winner forest engineers.

Works were started in autumn 1986 by the forestries of KEFAG. Fires the protecting belt, then the collection section were planted. The arboretum has been continually developed since its foundation and it is maintained now by the North-Kiskunság Forestry of Forestry and Woodworking Privated Co. Ltd. by shares Kiskunság.

Besides being a pleasant place for trips, it has become a more and more high-standard and interesting place for experiments of adaptation, meteorological observations, bird watching as well as education and teaching. A it lies in the prevailing wind direction (NW), this 62 hectare forest and garden area plays an important role in sheltering the town and conditioning the air arriving here.

The arboretum has become a popular tourist attraction not only for local people but for those arriving from distant parts of the country as well. First of all, primary school group visit the arboretum, but kindergarten and secondary schools also like spending some time there just like specialists and other visitors. The number of visitors is growing year by year, according to estimations about 60.000 people visit the place a year. Besides the guided tours and plant recognition workshops, individual visitors’ self-education is facilitated by the boards along the paths giving information on plants, insects, animals, the climate and the soil conditions. The arboretum also gives place for classes of Vackor Castle Forest School.

For specialists the comparative phenology examinations are really informative regarding the plants living in the different part of the country and especially their ornamental varieties. The data of the damages caused by frosts among the coniferous, deciduous and squamifoliate evergreens have been recorded on the national scale.

The Kecskemét Arboretum as joined these examinations, as a member of the Association of Hungarian Arboretums and Botanic Gardens. The automatic meteorological station gives helpful data about the local climate.

While creating and developing the plant collection, several objects have been built that meet the visitors’ demand. One of them is the look-out tower, which is among children’s favorite places and offers a really beautiful view both on the Chapel-hill and the Vízmű-hill. The rain shelters are popular for having a chat or a snack, while the benches and tables primarily serve as places for meditation rather than for a picnic. The youngest ones love the wooden play ground.

The 2-hectare Church area is an organic part of the arboretum where the Maria Chapel can be found. It was built in 1718 ad boats a frontispiece facade with a wooden ridge turret and a semicircular arched gateway. The chapel has been a shrine for pilgrimage for centuries and the rockery and the Hungarian Saints’ Alley make it a place worthy for meditation.

The arboretum consists of three main parts: the protecting belt, the collection section and the oak collection. If we walk along the 14 paths in the 25-hectare, central section we can see over 800 kinds of woody plants that were planted according to their morphological features, taxonomic classification, their needs and places of origin. Along the paths plants form the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Pacific, North American, East Asian, Balkan and Pannonian regions can be seen together with evergreens, colourful leafy plants, floriferous trees and shrubs, pines with long needles, cypress, junipers, drought-resistant, alkali-resistant and hydrophilic plants. Along the paths, recognition boards help us to identify the trees and shrubs.

The collection area is surrounded by a protecting belt that has a beneficial effect on the micro-climate and contains several species typical of the Plan region: pedunculate oaks, white poplars, ashes, maples and elm trees. The youngest section of the arboretum is the oak collection presenting different types of native and foreign droughttolerant oaks on about 16 hectares.

Sponsors:

Ministry of National Resources

University of Szeged

KEFAG Zrt.

Future of Europe Association