The Vrtba Garden in Prague: the terraced Baroque hidden behind a door on Karmelitská

In Malá Strana, Prague's Lesser Town, the crowds flow along Karmelitská heading for the Petřín funicular or, uphill, for the Castle. Very few stop in front of number 25, where a discreet doorway gives no hint of what lies behind it. It is the entrance to the Vrtbovská zahrada, the Vrtba Garden: a terraced Baroque garden built around 1710-1720, set against the slopes of Petřín hill and completely invisible from the street.

The design

The garden was designed by the architect František Maxmilián Kaňka for Jan Josef, Count of Vrtba, while he was renovating his palace. The space available was small and steeply sloping: instead of a flat parterre in the French manner, Kaňka solved the problem by building three terraced levels linked by staircases, a solution closer to the Italian garden tradition. The result is a sequence that climbs the flank of the hill, with boxwood embroidery (the broderies) traced in the gravel and a central pool between the Sala Terrena and a former mirror-image aviary.

What makes it special is not just the layout, but the people who worked on it. The original sculptures are by Matyáš Bernard Braun, the Bohemian Baroque sculptor par excellence, whose allegorical statues and urns punctuate the parapets and staircases. The Sala Terrena, the pavilion that acts as a hinge between the palace and the garden, preserves the frescoes of Václav Vavřinec Reiner. These are two names you encounter in Prague's most important churches and palaces: finding them concentrated in such an intimate garden is the reason the climb is worth it.

The panorama

And climb you really do. From the door on Karmelitská you step into shadow, then the garden opens upward. As you gain the steps, the perspective shifts: from the highest terraces the view stretches out over the red roofs of Malá Strana, over the bell towers and, in the distance, over the outline of the Castle and St Vitus Cathedral. It is the same panorama that thousands of people queue for at the Castle, here observed from an almost private belvedere.

The garden came close to disappearing. After decades of decay it underwent a structural restoration and a complete replanting between 1990 and 1998, and it reopened to the public in June 1998. Today it is listed among the assets protected for their cultural value and is inscribed within the UNESCO-recognised historic centre of Prague. It is often used for weddings and receptions, so you may find it reserved for an event: it is worth allowing for that possibility.

Getting there

To get there: the entrance is at Karmelitská 25, a short walk from Malostranské náměstí square and the Church of Our Lady Victorious (the one with the Infant Jesus of Prague). It is easily reached by the trams that stop at Malostranské náměstí or Hellichova, or on foot from the Malostranská metro station. It is a garden open in season, typically during the warmer months, with an admission ticket; opening hours vary from year to year, so it is worth checking before you go.

When to go

The best time is late spring or early autumn, when the boxwood is well tended, the light is low across the terraces and the city below is less crowded. Half an hour is enough to walk through it, but it is the kind of place where it is worth sitting on a step and forgetting about being in a hurry.