Cégénydányádi Kastélypark Természetvédelmi Terület

The Cégénydányádi park was built in the 19th century, during the Reform Era, as an English‑style landscape garden, on the site of the soft‑ and hardwood oak‑beech forests accompanying the Szamos, partially preserving the original tree stock.

The park spread along the Szamos was created by the ancient local owners, the related Kende and Kölcsey families, on the two neighboring settlements that later merged, Czégény and Dányád.

Location

It is located in the eastern part of Szabolcs‑Szatmár‑Bereg County, on the Szatmár Plain, at Cégénydányád on the right bank of the Szamos, beside road 4136 that runs through the village, on its southern side.

History of the castle

The manor was built by Kende Zsigmond in 1833, in classicist style, on the bank of the Szamos River.

The ground‑floor building was constructed with an impressive, distinctive façade design.

Verses written by Kölcsey Ferenc adorn it:

“Alkota munkáskéz engem; s a szőke Szamosnak

partjain a költő lát vala s zenge felém:

Ház, örökülj; s vídám békével tartsad öledben

gazdád, s gyermekeit, s hív unokái sorát"

The castle’s special features are its main entrance built of white carved stone and its vaulted front hall.

After a one‑and‑a‑half‑year reconstruction, it opened its doors in 2015. In the building renovated according to its 1913 condition, a museum now operates.

History of the park

The once 100‑acre park was also founded by Kende Zsigmond using material from the oak‑beech forests (oak, beech, elm, ash) beside the Szamos, following the fashion of the time, based on an English model.

Although the park’s tree stock, exposed to many cuttings, has become quite decayed due to recent hardships, the park still offers many experiences today with its remaining stands of fir.

Upon entering the park, the wonderful red‑barked beeches (Fagus) with their burgundy crowns in the front garden before the castle greet the visitor.

However, the real special feature is located behind the castle: a nearly 160‑year‑old, 25 metre high, massive‑crowned common plane (Platanus × acerifolia, syn. Platanus × hybrida) dominates the clearing. The tree, with a trunk circumference of almost 7 metres, has three trunks that intertwine, its long‑spreading branches are supported by poles, thus protecting them from breaking. The giant plane is not the only one here with a trunk circumference of 690 cm. In addition there are specimens with trunk circumferences of 534 cm, 449 cm, and 487 cm.

A little farther from the planes stands a 12 metre high linden with a trunk circumference of 180–190 cm. Besides them, the park also contains several notable old trees: a sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) with a trunk circumference of 388 cm, a honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) with a trunk circumference of 365 cm, a maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) with a trunk circumference of 235 cm, wild chestnuts, and other old trees.

When designing the garden, Zsigmond Kende selected the tree and plant composition so that they would be harmonious in colour and form, and each season would offer something to see.

Among the trees he mainly planted plane, horse chestnut, American linden, and silver birch, but the proximity of the Szamos, the nutrient‑rich alluvial soil of the river floodplain, the abundant local rainfall, the high humidity, and the protective effect of the floodplain forests also made it possible to introduce tree species that had not previously been able to be cultivated in Hungary.

The garden’s development was continued by his grandson of the same name, who enriched the park mainly with conifers.

The magical‑atmosphere English garden was almost completely destroyed after the Second World War. In the dire times, the locals cut down trees that were the only specimens of their kind in the whole country.

Common plane (Platanus × acerifolia, syn. Platanus × hybrida)

Swamp oak (Quercus palustris)

Deciduous swamp cypress – grew especially large due to the proximity of the Szamos

Single‑leaf ash

Common yew (Taxus baccata)

Common horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) – gives the park a Mediterranean atmosphere

Caucasian wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia)

Turkish hazel (Coryllus colurna)

Among the conifers:

Colorado fir (Abies concolor)

Douglas fir (Pseodtsuga menziesii)

Caucasian fir (Abies nordmanniana)

European larch (Larix decidua) – deciduous, its reddish trunk shines from a distance in the landscape