Trsteno Arboretum is a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

located in

Trsteno Trsteno is a village in southern Croatia, administratively located in the City of Dubrovnik. It is located on the D8 road, between the Orašac and Brsečine. Demographics According to the 2021 census, its population was 215. Trsteno Arboretu ...

, southern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The arboretum was erected by the local noble family Gucetic - Gozze (''see'' House of Gozze) in the late 15th century, who requested ship captains to bring back seeds and plants from their travels. The exact start date for the arboretum is unknown, but it was already in existence by 1492, when a 15 m span aqueduct to irrigate the arboretum was constructed; this aqueduct is still in use. It has been the property of the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

since 1948, when it was donated. The Arboretum reserves a very special place among the old

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n and

parks. It includes a park surrounding the fifteenth century summer residence, which is a monument of garden architecture, and a nineteenth century park at Drvarica. The arboretum passed into Yugoslav state ownership in 1945, and was declared a natural rarity in 1948. Since 1950 it has been managed by the

. In 1962 the Arboretum Trsteno was registered in the list of protected natural monuments list as a monument of landscape architecture. The protected area covers around 255,000 square metres. Trsteno suffered extensive damage and looting during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

when on October 2 and 3rd, 1991, the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

launched a series of gunboat and air attacks and set the Arboretum afire, destroying a large part of it, and causing partial damage to the summer residence and the oldest part of the arboretum. The arboretum was further severely damaged in 2000 by a

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

during a drought, when around 120,000 square metres were lost in fire. The pride of the arboretum, two

Oriental Plane ''Platanus orientalis'', the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree in the family Platanaceae, growing to or more, and known for its longevity and spreading crown. In autumn its deep green leaves may change to blood red, amber, and yellow. ...

s located on the central

market place A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

of Trsteno, survived both disasters undamaged. They are over 500 years old and are unique specimens of their kind in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The ancient trees are both about 45/60 m tall and their trunks are 5 m in diameter. Within what was once the noble family's

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

, there is the oldest

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

park in

, designed in 1502, with numerous exotic plants.

In popular culture

In the third season and fourth season of the television series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'', Trsteno Arboretum was used as the setting of the Red Keep palace gardens in King's Landing.

References

Gallery

Image:Arboretum Trsteno-1.JPG , Arboretum Trsteno Image:Arboretum Trsteno, Croatia.JPG , Arboretum Trsteno Image:Arboretum Trsteno-3.JPG, Arboretum Trsteno Image:Neptunova fontana Trsteno.jpg,

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

's fountain in arboretum Trsteno

External links

Trsteno at the Academy website

Trsteno Arboretum, the oldest renaissance garden in Dalmatia
{{Coord, 42, 43, N, 17, 59, E, region:HR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Botanical gardens in Croatia Arboreta in Croatia Protected areas of Dubrovnik-Neretva County