Pintér-Garden Arboretum
Pinter-Garden Arboretum is located in Pécs, in the Tettye district climbing up the Mecsek hillside. It was named after retired bank officer János Pintér (1879-1933).
Serving today as the headquarters of Duna-Drava National Park Directorate, the Pintér-villa standing in the arboretum, was built in the late 19th century. Its owner János Pintér (photo I.), had an interest in botany, and started planting trees around the villa in 1926. Taking advantage of the favourable climate of the area, he created an evergreen collection garden. After his death, a substantial part of the garden was reclaimed by natural forest communities, thus increasing the species richness of the arboretum. Today, an interesting mixture of original plant associations and ornamental species make up the flora of the arboretum.
In addition to the collection of deciduous trees, evergreens, shrubs and perennials, the garden is home to more than 30 protected species, including butcher’s broom, black bryony, and even the strictly protected Banat peony can be admired here. Orchid species are also of great value, as well as a number of native, indigenous plant species of the southern slopes of Mecsek, accompanied by sub-Mediterranean and Mediterranean plants. The area also contains two plant associations listed as protected.
The combination of these features is a great advantage in nature conservation education and awareness-raising: Pintér Garden Arboretum is a permanent location for practical sessions and camps in the Tettye Education Centre of Duna-Drava National Park Directorate. The variety and aesthetic value of the arboretum is further enhanced by the artificially created but near-natural plant community of the garden pond, and the goldfish pool with its putto water feature. The stone sculptures in the garden were created in the Nagyharsány Sculpture Park by local and foreign sculptors in the 1960s and 1970s.
Owing to its botanical values, the arboretum has been listed as a Nature Reserve (protected area of national importance) since 1977, and as part of West-Mecsek Landscape Protection area since 2009.
Parts of the arboretum
The lower part is the actual arboretum collection. Created almost a century ago, only this part of the arboretum was open to the public prior to the reconstruction in 2013. Visitors can wander through the garden on winding paths and stairs, admiring trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, the two small ponds and the artworks created in the Nagyharsány Sculpture Park. The upper end of the lower garden part is marked by the gazebo, which overlooks the chapel on Havihegy and the Corpus sculpted by Sándor Rétfalvi.
The upper part, open to visitors since autumn 2013, offers guests the sight of the typical Mecsek karst shrub forest. Following its reconstruction and opening, the main attraction of this part of the garden, which has been given the character of a “park forest”, is the natural vegetation and the urban panorama. While preserving the park forest and natural shrub forest character, the collection is gradually extended here too, through continuous planting. This part of the garden is very steep, with a difference in altitude of over 70 metres within a few hundred metres’ walk. It can be clearly seen that the trees (e.g. oaks) clinging to the thin soil of the steep slope remain quite small, despite their age. The stone piles crawling up the hillside are a reminder of the vineyards of the past: farmers used to move the stones they found during hoeing, and deposited them alongside the borders of their vineyards. There are several viewpoints on the hillside, from where one can admire the Tettye, the city of Pécs, and the surrounding landscape. To visit this part of the garden you are advised to wear sturdy footwear (hiking boots, hiking sandals, sports shoes). In wet, rainy weather, the steps can become slippery.
No dogs are allowed in the arboretum. Thank you for your understanding!
Information
+3672517200
dunadrava@ddnp.hu
Opening hours
1 March – 31 October:
Mondays to Thursdays: 8.00-16.00
Fridays: 8.00-13.30
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 10.00-18.00
1 November – 28 February:
Mondays to Thursdays: 8.00-16.00
Fridays: 8.00-13.30
Closed on Holidays
Prices
Adults: HUF 1000/person
Students, pensioners, teachers: HUF 500/person
Children up to 3 years of age: registration ticket: 100 HUF/person
Credit cards are accepted for payment.
Smartphone app
Visitors can use a smartphone app to view photographic descriptions of 50 plant species in the garden, read a concise introduction to the namesake, János Pintér, and learn about the history and main features of the arboretum. The app can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link below:
