Černín Garden (Černínská zahrada)

A garden with a surface area of 1.7 ha is used by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2011 on, it has been open for public in the summer.

Count Jan Černín of Chudenice, an educated traveller and diplomat, started to build his palace at the Loretan Square in 1669, and the garden began to be structured in 1693 according to the plans of architect Francesco Caratti. Later on, the formation of the garden was influenced by another well known architect Domenico Rossi, and then František Maxmilián Kaňka, who built a new summer house in the garden in 1774. The garden was greatly damaged during the wars in the years 1741 - 1742 and 1757 during the Prussian siege. It was restored to a form of an English park in the first half of the 19th century. In 1851, both the garden and the palace were purchased by the c. k. engineering management in Prague, and the objects were destroyed by being changed into barracks and a yard with stables. In 1928, the palace was acquired by the state, together with the garden, and both were completely rehabilitated. The garden was extended with a new part. The overall reconstruction in 1929 was realized according to architect Pavel Janák in cooperation with Otto Fierlinger. In 1994 - 1997, a general reconstruction of the garden took place according to architect Zdeněk Kuna and Jaroslav Zdražil, in cooperation with garden engineer Vítězslava Ondřejová. There is a palace staircase leading into the older part of the garden arranged geometrically to the terrace of the upper pool. There is a lower cascade fountain at the foot of the hill behind to pool, and there is a pavilion in the end. The new part of the garden has a free composition with groups of trees.

On the 16th October 1990, a border stone from the Czech-Bavarian border was placed in the garden. The stone is from the year 1766. It was a gift to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jiří Dienstbier as a symbol of opening the borders.