Gardens under Prague Castle

The southern slope of Prague Castle is home to unique Baroque gardens that serve as representative and relaxing spaces for the owners of the palaces around Valdštejnská Street. The exposed hillside beneath the medieval fortifications originally lay empty, which was crucial for defensive reasons. Over time, however, vineyards began to emerge here, and in the 16th century, the first gardens were established. A turning point occurred during the Thirty Years’ War when Swedish troops devastated Prague, and the originally Renaissance-style gardens were replaced with newly built cascading gardens in opulent Baroque style.

Especially in the 18th century, magnificent urban palaces of wealthy nobility arose beneath the monarch's residence, accompanied by visually pleasing gardens full of decorative summer houses, celebratory gloriettes, oval staircases, and sculpturally adorned fountains. Today, this interconnected complex consists of six parts. The individual gardens are named after the palaces beside which they were created. However, these are not original names, as the palace owners often changed throughout the 19th century. Today, they are known as the Ledebour Garden, the Small Pálffy Garden, the Large Pálffy Garden, the Small Fürstenberg Garden, the Large Fürstenberg Garden, and the Kolovrat Garden, with the first four mentioned being accessible to the public.

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