These articles were published in the Spectacular Slovakia travel guide, published annually by The Slovak Spectator since 1996. The latest editions can be obtained from our online shop.

Mlyňany : Woody wonderland

By Howard Swains

	The Arboretum Mlyňany is a huge estate featuring rare plant species from around the world.
	ČTK

There's nothing to suggest that Štefan Ambrózy, one such example, didn't dearly love Antonia Migazzi, from near Nitra, but he clearly hit the jackpot when his marriage to her in 1892 meant he inherited the Migazzi country estate. He took charge of approximately 60 hectares of undulating terrain in the Danubian lowlands, built a spectacular manor house, then employed an eminent horticulturalist, named Jozef Mišák, to help indulge his passion for botany, prompted by his frequent sojourns to southern Italy. The result of the two men's industry and expertise was the Arboretum Mlyňany, a grandiose botanical garden that has not only endured but also extended into a vast habitat for one of the largest collections of woody evergreens in Europe. Contemporary visitors can enjoy a delightful day out surrounded by the spoils of Ambrózy's marriage of passion and opportunity. Many of the exotic trees still in the arboretum were originally imported and nurtured by Ambrózy and Mišák. Now they are fully mature examples of a wide variety of species; flourishing, perhaps against the odds, in the central European climate. The Ambrózy Park area of the current arboretum is a dense canopy of great beauty and botanical importance.

Even after Ambrózy left Mlyňany for Hungary in 1914, his successors continued to tend to his collection and plant further species from across the world. Now, there are North American, Chinese, Japanese and Korean gardens, including serene pergolas beside ornamental pools, with a network of paths and suggested routes wending their way across the entire estate. Information about the flora is available via electronic speakers, with voice recordings in Slovak, Hungarian, German and English.

The best time to visit is the spring, when the rhododendrons are in full bloom. But the garden remains stunning year-round, owing to the evergreen nature of most of the plants. Botanical research continues in the arboretum, in a department of micro-propagation and in greenhouses and nurseries scattered across the estate. There is also a classroom in the manor house - surrounded by glass cabinets displaying stuffed birds and pinned butterflies - to educate local schoolchildren on conservation matters.

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