Vrtbovska Garden

The Vrtbovska Garden was built in conjunction with the Vrtbovska Palace (1715-20) for the chancellor of Prague castle (Jan Jospeh, Lord Vrtba). It was designed by Frantisex Maximilian Kanka, with the sculptor Matyas Bernard Braun. The garden plan is trapezoid and ascends the slope of a hill. The lowest level, overlooked by a delightful garden room (the salla terrena) has a pool, a parterre and an aviary. It is fully secluded. From here a central axis ascends to an outlook terrace at the top of the garden. The ascent takes place by means of baroque stairways to the left and right of the axis. The original planting layout was known only from short written descriptions. As restored, the garden is an interesting example of the baroque style, adapted to the needs of a tight urban site.