Folly arboretum, Botanical garden in Badacsonytomaj, Hungary.

Folly arboretum covers 5 hectares on the southern slope of the Kisörsi-hegy in Badacsonyörs, between 159 and 235 metres above sea level: 3.6 hectares of planted garden and 1.6 hectares of adjoining native oak forest. The collection holds 604 woody taxa, among them 281 gymnosperms and 324 angiosperms, with 39 pine, 23 juniper, 22 fir and 10 spruce species. A five-metre wooden lookout tower shaped like a pinecone, designed by Gábor Kruppa, stands on the highest point.

Dr. Gyula Folly, a physician from Pécs, planted the first exotic trees here in 1905 on 0.4 hectares, replacing an original oak stand on the southern slope of Kisörsi-hegy. After his death in 1915 and the First World War, the state expropriated most of the estate in 1950; his son Gyula resumed planting in 1953, adding Atlas cedars in 1964 and Italian cypresses in 1970. The third generation, agronomist Gyula Folly, founded a nursery in 1977 and brought some 100 new taxa from Western Europe in 1981; after 1989 the family bought the land back.

The estate pairs its tree collection with a winery that continues the traditions of the Badacsony wine region. Its cellar was rebuilt in 1878 by Pál Csigó, father-in-law of the founder, and is still in use. The winery farms 12 hectares of vines and fills about 70,000 bottles a year, mainly white varieties such as szürkebarát, olaszrizling and kéknyelű.

The garden paths are marked and straightforward to follow, making it accessible for visitors of varying fitness levels. An observation platform provides orientation points, and guided tours are available for those wanting detailed information about the trees.

At the garden's highest point stands a five-metre wooden lookout tower built in 2014 and designed by architect Gábor Kruppa in the shape of a pinecone. From it you can see the rows of the historic Badacsony wine region and the Szent Iván chapel at Ábrahámhegy.