Palace Park - Palace Gardens

Vas County is a shining example of the region's famous culture, as it is home to the largest arboretum and palace park in Hungary. Among these, Körmend Palace Gardens, first mentioned in records dating back to 1620, occupies a prominent place. The then only 2-acre vegetable garden was expanded to 92 acres between 1720 and 1799, the Batthyány family created the only French park in Vas County. The park also features significant works of art, including sculptures by Viennese sculptor Fischer, notably the groups of Zephyrus and Flora, and Vertumnus and Pomona.

In the middle of the park stands an obelisk erected around 1820, adorned with the family coat of arms, on which a bronze plaque commemorates the illustrious ancestors of the Batthyány family. In the last years of the 18th century, dozens of exotic tree and shrub species were planted. The transformation of the garden into an English landscape garden began around the 1820s, but the triple axis system of the French park was retained, two of which can still be seen today. From the mid-19th century, exotic plants from abroad were given names, and on market days and holidays, the general public could also visit them. The boating lake, later renamed Swan Lake, was established in the early 1880s. At the end of the 19th century, a large flower and tree nursery also produced plants for sale. World War II spared it relatively, but since it was a military camp until 1956, its ornamental shrubbery was completely destroyed.

In the decades since the war, its former 55-hectare area has shrunk to 33 hectares. Factories, housing estates, schools, and sports fields have been built on its territory. The park, which has been protected since 1958, now has more than seventy species of trees and shrubs. Although its species diversity lags behind that of other arboretums, its tree population is the most valuable in the county in terms of age and size. The most famous tree in the park is the 200-year-old maple-leaved plane tree (Platanus+acerifolia), which has a circumference of 7.8 m, a height of 35 m, and a crown diameter of 45 m. The tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) and white pines (Pinus strobus) in the park are similarly large. Almost unnoticeable among the foliage are the green flowers of the tulip tree. This is probably the first domestic planting of the tulip tree, which is native to North America. More familiar larger trees include English oaks (Quercus robur), ash trees (Fraxinus), hornbeams (Carpinus), and maples (Acer).