Count István Ambrózy-Migazzi

* Nice, March 5, 1869 – † Tana, August 31, 1933 / lawyer, dendrologist, botanist ; ; He spent his childhood in Tana, Vas County, and under the influence of his mother, Countess Agáta Erdődy, he became interested in horticulture and nature in general. He was especially fascinated by plants, and in addition to his legal studies, he also studied biology in Vienna, Leuven and Budapest. He only dealt with botany as a hobby, excelling primarily in public life as a member of parliament, and also farmed his estates. In 1892, he married Countess Antónia Migazzi, daughter of Count István Migazzi, and thus became the owner of the Malonya estate, where he built a castle in 1894–1895, and next to it he created a botanical garden on a 100-acre (67 ha) area with the help of the gardener József Mysák. Here he planted foreign plants, especially evergreen trees (about 1,500 species). He was also a great fan of roses and had evergreen American varieties imported, but these eventually became extinct and were replaced by varieties bred by the famous Korponan rose breeder Rudolf Geschwind. Renowned dendrologists from Europe also often visited the Malonya castle. However, the outbreak of World War I interrupted the expansion of the arboretum and after the change of empire in 1918, Ambrózy did not return to this estate, but between 1922 and 1933 he created the landmark arboretum about 2-3 km from the village of Kám in Vas County. His intention was to create a microclimate suitable for the deciduous evergreens of the Mediterranean climate and plant associations that would ensure the survival of more demanding species. He successfully achieved this, so both of his arboretums can still be researched and visited today. The Malonya Arboretum was taken over by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1953, and from then on, new tree species were planted not only according to the semper vireo (‘forever green’) principle promoted by Ambrózy, but also according to phytogeographical considerations. He himself designated his grave in the middle of the symbolic arboretum, and his favorite saying can be read on the crypt: Semper vireo. A full-length bronze statue of him stands in the Malonya Arboretum.