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Vrtba Garden
The Vrtba Garden ( cs, Vrtbovská zahrada) in Prague is one of several fine High Baroque gardens in the Czech capital. Like three other Baroque gardens (the Vratislav, Schönborn, and Lobkowicz palace gardens) the Vrtba Garden is situated on the slope of Petřín Hill, in the Malá Strana section of the city. In the midst of an expansive moment in Prague's history during the 1710s and 1720s, the garden was laid out by František Maxmilián Kaňka, who was renovating the Vrtba palace for Jan Josef, Count of Vrtba. Though the palace has undergone extensive reconstructions in the succeeding centuries, the garden retained its Baroque features and the original statuary and sculptural decor by Matyáš Bernard Braun. In addition, the fresco interiors of the Sala Terrena that links palace and garden, executed by Václav Vavřinec Reiner, have also survived. Facing the Sala Terrena across a central pool is a matching former aviary. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of with a mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec. The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial State of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy. The Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule. With the dissolution of the Holy Empire in 1806, the Cro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baroque Garden
The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the gardens of the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, and then spread to France, where it became known as the ''jardin à la française'' or French formal garden. The grandest example is found in the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV. In the 18th century, in imitation of Versailles, very ornate Baroque gardens were built in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, Spain, and in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In the mid-18th century the style was replaced by the less geometric and more natural English landscape garden. Characteristics Baroque gardens were intended to illustrate the mastery of man over nature. They were often designed to be seen from above and from a li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petřín Hill
Petřín () is a hill in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The .... It rises 327 m above sea level and some 130 m above the left bank of the Vltava River. The hill, almost entirely covered with parks, is a favorite recreational area for the inhabitants of Prague. The hill (in German language, German known as ''Laurenziberg'') is featured prominently in Franz Kafka's early short story "Description of a Struggle" and briefly in Milan Kundera, Milan Kundera's novel ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being''. The chronicler Cosmas of Prague, Cosmas describes Petřín as a very rocky place, the hill is allegedly called Petřín because of the large number of rocks (Latin: petra). Since ancient times, Rock (geology), stones were dug and were used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malá Strana
Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center of the ethnic German (and since 16th century also Italian) citizens of Prague. It also housed many noble palaces while the right-bank towns were comparatively more bourgeois and more Bohemian Czech. Name The name Malá Strana literally means "Little Side", though it is frequently referred to as "Lesser Town", "Lesser Quarter", or "Lesser Side". It is on the left (west) bank of the river Vltava, on the slopes just below Prague Castle. The name distinguishes it from the larger districts of Prague on the right bank, with which it is linked by the Charles Bridge. Originally, when it was founded in 1257, the district was called the ''New Town beneath Prague Castle'' (). When Charles IV founded the New Town of Prague in 1348, Malá Strana was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
František Maxmilián Kaňka
František Maxmilián Kaňka (9 August 1674 in Prague – 14 July 1766 in Prague) was a Czech architect and builder. He was known for modifying castles, palaces and churches. In 1724 he was appointed emperor's architect. Work He is most famous for reconstructions of palaces and castles of Bohemian noblemen and for designs of churches and other religious buildings, principally in Baroque style. His work includes: * reconstruction of Vrtba palace and Vrtba Garden, Prague * reconstruction of the Krásný Dvůr Castle, c. 1720 * with Anselmo Lurago, the Astronomical Tower and other structures at the Clementinum, Prague, c. 1720 * reconstruction of facade of the St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) * the chateau Konopiště outside of the town of Benešov, last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and now a museum * Church of St. John of Nepomuk, Kutná Hora * Veltrusy Mansion residence of count Václav Antonín Chotek of Chotkov and V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matyáš Bernard Braun
Matthias Bernard Braun (Czech: ''Matyáš Bernard Braun'', 24 February 1684 in Sautens near Innsbruck – 15 February 1738 in Prague) was a sculptor and carver active in the Czech lands, one of the most prominent late baroque style sculptors in the area. Matthias Bernard Braun was born as the fifth child of Jacob Braun and Magdalene born Neureuter. He apprenticed in Austria (Salzburg) and Italy (Venice, Bologna, Rome). And in his work, it is the Italian influence, that is the most prominent. He was inspired by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and by the Venetian sculptural school of the 17th century and thus became a great propagator of the Italian-provenience sculpture in the Central-European context. Some time before 1710, Braun came to visit Prague, already as a full-fledged artist creating from sandstone, and soon he became domestic in Bohemia. He found his wife and friends there, and became a citizen to the New Town of Prague. Already his first work - the st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Aviaries often contain plants and shrubbery to simulate a natural environment. Various types of aviary Large aviaries are often found in the setting of a zoological garden (for example, the London Zoo, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the San Diego Zoo). Walk-in aviaries also exist in bird parks, including the spacious Jurong BirdPark in Singapore, or the smaller Edward Youde Aviary in Hong Kong. Pittsburgh is home to the USA's National Aviary, perhaps the most prominent example in North America of an aviary not set inside a zoo. However, the oldest public aviary not set inside a zoo in North America, the Hamilton Aviary is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Tracy Aviary is an example of a bird park within a public urban park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Formal Garden
The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV and widely copied by other European courts. Éric Mension-Rigau, "Les jardins témoins de leur temps" in '' Historia'', n° 7/8 (2000). History Renaissance influence The ''jardin à la française'' evolved from the French Renaissance garden, a style which was inspired by the Italian Renaissance garden at the beginning of the 16th century. The Italian Renaissance garden, typified by the Boboli Gardens in Florence and the Villa Medici in Fiesole, was characterized by planting beds, or parterres, created in geometric shapes, and laid out symmetrical patterns; the use of fountains and cascades to animate the garden; stairways and ramps to unite different levels of the garden; grottos, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broderie (garden Feature)
A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of the garden nearest the house, perhaps after a terrace. The view of it from inside the house, especially from the upper floors, was a major consideration in its design. The word "parterre" was and is used both for the whole part of the garden containing parterres and for each individual section between the "alleys". The pattern or the borders of the beds may be marked by low, tightly pruned, evergreen hedge (gardening), hedging, and their interiors may be planted with flowers or other plants or filled with mulch or gravel. Parterres need not have any flowers at all, and the originals from the 17th and 18th centuries had far fewer than modern survivals or reconstructions. Statues or small evergreen trees, clipped as pyramids or other sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
