Botanical Garden

Pražská botanická zahrada

The other, older, botanical garden is in the city center. It was founded in 1775 and is managed by Charles University.

The idea of creating a new, and much larger botanical garden originated in 1922, when Alois Svoboda, a prominent patriotic landowner, donated 82 hectares of land (203 acres) – including the Troja Château – to the state. This land was used to create the city’s zoo, and a large portion was intended for a botanical garden, but it wasn’t until 1969 before the garden was created.

It would take another 23 years before the first section of the botanical garden opened to the public. The garden has since expanded significantly. Some of the most notable expansions include the addition of the Asian garden, which opened in 1993, and the completion of brand new tropical greenhouses in 2004.

There are over 15,000 plant species across a variety of habitats such as the North American Prairie, the Mediterranean and Asia. There are also themed gardens such as the rock & alpine garden and the Japanese garden.

The botanical garden is divided into several sections. If you enter the garden through the south entrance, the first section you encounter is St. Clair’s vineyard, which has a history that goes back to the 13th century. The vineyard features a Baroque vineyard house and St. Claire’s Chapel, built in the late 17th century. From here you have a magnificent view over the area.

North of the vineyard is the Ornamental garden. This is the oldest section of the botanical garden. It contains a greenhouse with rock plants and a grassy area with two sequoia trees. To the east is the Japanese garden which boasts a meditation garden, an artificial stream and a small pond with koi, as well as a wooden tea hut, and there are often exhibitions with plenty of bonsai trees.

Further north, uphill, is a section called the Slope, which still features the same steppe flora as was common in this area in the past. On the east side, around a hexagonal lawn, you’ll find a honey farm.

The next section, further north, is the Forest, which consists of Asian and American trees that grow in dry, hot habitats.

On the west side of the forest, a footbridge gives access to ‘Fata Morgana’, home to the garden’s large tropical greenhouse. The 130-meter-long greenhouse is divided into three areas, each with a different temperature and humidity.

On the other side of the forest is the Upper Garden, the most diverse section of all. It includes an area called ‘Useful plants from the New World’, which features several hundred medicinal, editable or otherwise useful crops from South, Central and North America. Other areas in the upper garden represent the North American prairie with grassland and prairie plants, the North American semi-desert with plants from Mexico and winter-tolerant succulents. There is also a collection of conifers in this section of the garden, and a wetland with a lake. Nearby is the Peony Meadow, a grassy area with perennials, daffodils, sedges and peonies. More flowers can be admired in the neighboring rose garden and iris garden.