The Vrtba Garden ( cs, Vrtbovská zahrada) in

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 ...

is one of several fine High Baroque gardens in the Czech capital. Like three other

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 ga ...

s (the Vratislav, Schönborn, and Lobkowicz palace gardens) the Vrtba Garden is situated on the slope of

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 w ...

, in the

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 o ...

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 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 f ...

, 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 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 i ...

. 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 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. Av ...

.Vrtbovská garden: History
Between 1990 and 1998 the Vrtba Garden underwent structural conservation and extensive replanting and was reopened for public in June 1998. The formal garden in the French style laid out in clipped scrolling asymmetrical

broderies 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 ...

of boxwood in gravel on three terraced levels makes use of an irregular steep slope more characteristic of

Italian garden The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...

sites, in a cramped space that was already densely built over when the garden was established. It is listed for its historic cultural values by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Today the garden is entered from the base, through a discreet gate in Karmelitská Street. It is often used as a venue for weddings, receptions and other celebrations.

Notes

{{Authority control Gardens in Prague Malá Strana Czech Baroque gardens

See also

Notes