- Address: 110 00 Praha 1-Nové Město, Czech Republic
Not far from Prague 's main railway station are the gardens of Vrchlického sady. This is one of the few green corners of the Old Town, whose history began in the 30s of the XIX century. The park was built on the initiative of Count Choteka in Baroque style and was located along the waterfront.
History of creation
Since the period of its foundation the gardens of Vrchlicki have been reconstructed several times. For example, in 1871, when the station was completed, there was a large city park, and 13 years later the green massif was decorated with an artificial lake with a waterfall, decorative rocks and flower parterres. For landscape design, the well-known architect F.Y. Tomayer.
At the beginning of the 20th century, another reconstruction was carried out here. Repair work was carried out according to the project of K. Shkalyak, according to which 50 species of trees, bushes and flowers were planted in the park. In 1914, the garden received its modern name. He was named so in memory of the Czech playwright, translator and poet Yaroslav Vrchlicki.
In 1972, in Prague, began to build a new Central Station, for which a large area of the park was torn away. Also, its territory decreased during the construction of highways and metro .
Description of the gardens of Vrchlicki
Currently, this landmark is a large park planted with various plants. Among them there are trees such as the maple-leafed platan (the trunk is 3.5 meters in circumference) and felt paulonia.
In the gardens of Vrchlicki there are also several monuments and architectural structures. The most famous of them are:
- The monument dedicated to the naturalist Ya.S. Presley , established in 1916. The monument is a huge stone block with a bronze bas-relief, on which an allegorical female figure is depicted. The statue was designed by architect J. Gochar and sculptor B. Kafka.
- The wooden pavilion is an architectural monument and is located at the intersection of 2 streets: Opletalova and Bolzano. It was built in 1920 by the design of P. Janek. This is the only surviving building, built in the style of Czech art deco (rondocubistik).
- The Monument of Brotherhood is a replica of the famous statue of the same name, made by the sculptor Ya. Pokorny. It was installed in honor of the Soviet soldiers who came to the aid of Prague in the spring of 1945. The monument's composition is a Czech partisan hugging the military Soviet army.
- Sculpture of the American President Woodrow Wilson - it is in the place where the Jerusalem street intersects with Opletalova. The monument was donated to Prague in honor of the 10th anniversary of the formation of Czechoslovakia. Its authors are sculptors from the US who have Czech roots - B. Hepshman and A. Polasek. During the Nazi occupation, the monument was destroyed, but in 2011 it was installed again. Inside there is a bronze tuba with photos and documents illustrating the history of the statue.
What you need to know about visiting the gardens of Vrchlicki?
Who wants to get a charge of adrenaline, visits the park in the dark. The fact is that the proximity of the Central Station had a rather negative impact on the formation of the image of the garden. Here, homeless people and beggars live, thieves and pickpockets operate, marginals and alcoholics entertained. They come here to buy drugs or find a "nocturnal butterfly."
The locals call the gardens of Vrchlicka the Prague Sherwood (Sherwood), however, you will not find Robin Hood in it. This place is clearly not located for evening walks, so tourists come here best at daylight hours.
How to get there?
You can get to the Vrchlicky gardens by metro, bus number 135 and by tram numbers 5, 9, 15, 26 (in the afternoon) and 95, 98 (at night). The stop is called Hlavní nádraží. From the center of Prague to the park are also the streets of Anglická, Washingtonova, Legerova and Italská. The distance is no more than 2 km.