PARKS AND GARDENS

Royal Game Park Stromovka

The Royal Game Park Stromovka is located in the neighbourhood of the Holešovice fairground site. Its size has changed over different historic periods; currently it is 95 hectares. It arose during the reign of King Přemysl Otakar II who had it enclosed as a royal game park and built a summerhouse there in 1266. The game park flourished especially in the reign of Rudolph II. At that time, the game park was significantly enlarged. The most remarkable relic is the so-called Oak hill – an elevated island in a former pond, where monumental oaks grow.

The game park was transformed into a large English landscape park approximately in the middle of the nineteenth century. At that time flower terraces and decorative flower beds were created, pools, fountains and sculptural decorations were installed there. As time passed further park modifications were carried out. In 2002 Stromovka was hit by a flood, which destroyed approximately one third of the park. The number of precious trees, which had to be felled, exceeded 1,000.

Rieger's park

Rieger's park is a municipal park with an area of 11 hectares, which lies on the boundary between the city districts Vinohrady and Žižkov at the altitude of 127 to 170 metres. The park was founded in 1902 when a former garden called Kanálka merged with several adjacent vineyards. Since its foundation it has carried the name of a Czech politician, František Ladislav Rieger. Establishing an English park on such a sloping terrain was not easy.

In 1938 the park area shrunk because a gymnasium and sports facilities were built by the Sokols, a Czech sports union. One of the largest Sokol sports areas in the world was occupied by the German army during World War II. After the war, the desolated park was renewed. At present, free meadows, vistas with excellent views of Prague and charming secluded spots are characteristic of the park.

Chotek's park

This was the first municipal park in Prague which today has an acreage of 3.7 hectares that stretch under the Royal Summer house. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries this land consisted of number of vineyards and pastures, in the seventeenth century it was used as an agricultural hinterland for the Prague castle, especially for deposition of timber and fire wood and hay. Different games, riding competitions and knightly tournaments used to take place there as well.

When Count Karel Chotek became the highest burgrave and started to run the country's administration, he began with extensive modernisation and beautification of Prague through planting greenery. In the year 1832 he founded an English-type park in the eastern part of the Royal Garden, not far from the Summer Palace of Queen Anne. Nine years later the park was completed and ceremonially named after its founder. There are about 50 species of trees in Chotek's park – monumental poplars, sycamores, oaks, hornbeams, etc. Since 1997 the park has been connected with the Royal Garden.