Berta Park
Overview
The Japanese Garden of Devecser is a publicly accessible thematic garden within Berta Park, established on the grounds of the former Berta District Hospital. Construction began in summer 2020, and the completed garden was ceremonially opened in 2021. Its composition combines a pond, wooden bridge, waterfall, torii gates, stone lanterns, a dry Zen garden and a path displaying haiku, together with plants largely originating from Japan.
History
Berta Park occupies the former hospital complex at Miskei utca 47. The municipality began transforming the grounds into a thematic botanical and recreational garden in 2020, with the Japanese Garden forming one of its first completed sections alongside a rose garden. The park has continued to develop through additional planting and planned thematic areas.
The idea for the Japanese Garden was initiated by Gábor Ferenczi, then mayor of Devecser. Municipal staff, local organisations and other contributors participated in its implementation, although available sources do not identify a professional landscape architect or Japanese garden specialist responsible for the detailed design.
The garden was formally inaugurated during a municipal Japanese Day programme in August 2021. The event included Japanese drumming, kimono presentation, judo, a lecture on Japanese and Western culture, tea ceremony and origami activities. The cultural programme received support from the Japan Foundation Budapest, but the published account associates that funding with the event rather than explicitly with construction of the garden itself.
Design features
The central landscape contains a small pond crossed by a traditional-style wooden bridge, accompanied by a rock-lined waterfall and ornamental planting. The municipal description also identifies torii gates, Japanese-style benches, rocks and stone lanterns as principal built features.
A separate dry Zen garden introduces a more abstract stone-and-gravel element, while the Haiku Path connects the landscape with Japanese literary culture. Because the composition combines pond scenery, dry-garden elements, symbolic architecture and a literary route, it is best classified as a Hybrid / mixed garden rather than as a single historical Japanese garden form.
Much of the planting was selected from species native to Japan. Contemporary reporting at the opening noted that the young vegetation would require time to mature and integrate the garden’s architectural features into a more convincing planted landscape.
Garden elements
Bridges
Waters and islands
Stones
Shinto elements
Other elements
Current status
The garden remains a recognised visitor attraction within Berta Park, which continues to expand. The municipality currently describes the park as freely accessible on weekdays between 08:00 and 16:00.