Nový Dvůr Arboretum: Circumnavigate the World

STYLE Nový Dvůr Arboretum: Circumnavigate the World The foundation of the Arboretum is closely linked to the owner of the Nový Dvůr estate, Quido Riedl, who, between 1906 and 1928, created a natural, landscaped park in a modestly-sized area of 1.8 hectares. This park became the foundation for the current arboretum, and forms the historical section of the dendrological exhibition which has gradualąly expanded to its current twenty-three hectares. In 1928, Riedl left the Nový Dvůr estate to his daughter, Elisabeth Schubert, and son-inlaw, Walter Schubert, who tended the park until the end of World War II. In the post-war period, the Nový Dvůr estate went through a number of owners, while the park was deprived of expert supervision and became overgrown and neglected. The situation changed in 1958 when the park, one of the most valuable dendrological sites in Silesia, was passed on to the Silesian Museum, which established the Arboretum. The basic structure of the park involves fully-grown, solitary or grouped pine trees of the “Heraltice ecotype”; the vegetation surrounding them, alternating grassy open spaces, allows views of picturesque groves grouped by with contrasting structures, textures, habitats, autumn colouration, or blossom colour and intensity. Newer parts of the dendrological exhibition designed in the following years reflect geographical units; under the overall title of “The Trees of Five Continents”, each section displays geographically-related species. Visitors to the Arboretum can see the exposition of subtropical and tropical plants in the fully-equipped silvicultural greenhouse surrounded by an herbs garden. Remember to see the Alpinum with a little lake, the renewed bog with moisture-loving plants, and children always love seeing the minizoo and the newlybuilt logger, which is a home for insects. Text: Šárka Zemková, Kamila Mücková Foto: Kamila Mücková www.szm.cz POSITIV 2/2020 ǀ 99