Colourful Japanese gardens in Poland

A Japanese garden is not only a charming place for recreation and relaxation, the romantic setting is the perfect background for photography sessions. In Poland you will find about 7 Japanese gardens open to visitors, most of them in southern and western Poland. Enjoy Japanese architecture, fountains, bridges, ponds, beautiful flowers, and exotic trees. Take a break in a tea house and relax between blooming flowers and trees.

Japanese garden of Count Fritz von Hochberg

The most famous Japanese garden in Poland is located in the Szczytnicki park in Wrocław. The park is next to the Centennial Hall which is registered on the UNESCO Heritage List.

The Japanese garden is one of the few traces that are left after the world exhibition organised in 1913. The original garden was designed and created by one of the largest enthusiast of Japanese culture Count Frederic (Fritz) von Hochberg, an enthusiast of garden art and an expert on Oriental art and owner of the palace in Iłowa. He was a passionate traveler and served as Germany’s ambassador to Japan. With the help of the Japanese master gardener Mankichi Arai he created a wonderful Oriental oasis in Poland.

After a lot of restorations, the Wrocław Japanese garden is a piece of living Oriental culture in the middle of Europe. You can visit the garden from April until October.

Relax in the town of gardens – Iłowa

The first Japanese garden in Europe, however, has been created in Iłowa, a small town in the lubuskie voivodeship near the German border. Here in Iłowa Count Frederic (Fritz) von Hochberg, the creator of the Wrocław Japanese garden, had his residence. You will find a few interesting gardens in the manor park: an English, French, Chinese and Japanese garden. The Japanese garden with a tea house, lanterns made of stone and small bridges, is of a particular value. The layout of the paths and canals, the artificial lake and islands have been preserved until the present day. Visit this unique historic garden the whole year round. It is especially charming during winter. Take your time to visit also the Chinese garden.

Oriental oasis in the Karkonosze Mountains

In the Karkonosze Mountains, south-western Poland, in the little village of Przesieka the 1.5 ha big private Japanese garden – Siruwia – is located. You will find a rich flora, several ponds, streams, and even a 6 m high „masculine” waterfall and a smaller „feminine” waterfall. Beautiful coloured  rhododendron bloom in spring.

Valuable arboretum

The Japanese garden in Przelewice, Western Pomerania, is part of the arboretum which is one of the most valuable natural objects in Poland.  The Japanese garden is almost 80 years old. Cherries and magnolias bloom in spring. You can see typical Japanese architecture: the arched bridge over a pond or a tiny cottage-tea pavilion. The trees growing around the this part of the arboretum provide an exceptionally mild micro climate: in winter it is not too cold, in summer the sun is not burning and the wind is moderate.

Visit the small exotic Japanese garden of Edward Majcher

Edward Majcher created between 1980 and 2003 a Japanese garden in Jarków near Kudowa Zdrój (Lower Silesian voivodeship). The garden is not so big (1000 m2) but in traditional Japanese style. You can visit the garden daily in Mai-September.

Magic garden in southern Poland

In Stara Moravia, a small village in Lower Silesia, you can explore a beautiful, Japanese garden.  The plants, miniature buildings, everything looks here as if it moved straight from Japan. In the exotic and beautifully arranged garden you can see different kinds of bonsai. You can visit the garden in small guided groups.

Botanical wonder in central Poland

The beautiful botanical garden in Łódź (central Poland) has 9 themes, one of them is the Japanese Garden. You will see flora from Japan, China and other far east countries. Cherries, hydrangea, rhododendron, magnolia, ginkgo, dawn redwood, Japanese pieris, nymphaea hybrida are some of the trees and plants that grow here. You can visit the botanical garden from April until October. Take your time to explore the other 8 themes in the botanical garden.

Photo: Hilde Mertens