Jókai Garden

Jókai Garden is a nature reserve located in Budapest, on the Svábhegy.

History

Jókai Mór, in 1853 at the age of 28, bought from the Schweitzer violin maker 2 acres of land used at the time as a quarry for 2200 forints with the royalties from the novels "Egy magyar nábob" and "Kárpáthy Zoltán". From there a splendid view opened onto Gellért Hill, the Danube and the city. He planted linden, maple, wild chestnut, and walnut trees to block the northern wind. He laid out the garden in terraces, filled it with topsoil, planted fruit trees and vines, created a kitchen garden, and cultivated roses. He retreated here to rest and write away from the city's noise, in a rural setting.

After the writer's death the area was neglected, the Jókai villa was demolished due to its poor condition, but the barn remained. Since 1975 it has been a nationally significant nature reserve, and since 2007 a protected historic garden.

Description

The buildings in the garden house the offices of the Danube–Ipoly National Park Directorate, the Károly Károlyi Biogeographical and Conservation Library, the offices of the Hungarian Ornithological and Natural History Society, and in the barn the Jókai memorial room managed by the Petőfi Literary Museum. Here the writer's personal belongings can be seen. The wall of the Jolly memorial room is built of the original villa's stone.

From 1968 the memorial room was located on the ground floor of the administration building; it is currently located on the ground floor of the renovated barn.

In the park stands the statue of János Róna's Anacreon, whose face was modeled after Jókai. Next to it is a stone bench with a lion motif similar to the one belonging to the writer.

Numerous bird species can be observed here, and the nearby Steindl villa hosts the recently opened "Bird World" exhibition. On one of the paths in Jókai Garden there is also a mineralogical exhibition, and several of the trees planted by the writer still preserve his memory in the park.

The garden is free to visit for individual visitors during opening hours.