Pálmaház du Füvészkert de Budapest

Built in 1865 to plans by architect József Diescher, the Pálmaház at Budapest's Füvészkert — Hungary's oldest botanical garden — is distinguished by its octagonal plan, topped with a dome toward which the fronds of an old cycad, nearly eighteen meters tall, still reach today. Originally conceived more as an orangery for overwintering plants than as a true permanent palm house, it has housed Hungary's only Victoria pool since the 19th century, where the giant Amazonian water lily thrives. Damaged by World War II bombing, the greenhouse remained closed for nearly twenty years before returning to full use. It owes part of its popular fame to Ferenc Molnár's novel The Paul Street Boys, in which young Nemecsek hides in the greenhouse's goldfish pool. Still in operation today, the Pálmaház continues to house orchids, flowering citrus, and tropical plants, just a few kilometers from Budapest Zoo and its own, much more recent, Pálmaház.