The continually developing heavy firearms that even the strongest fortifications could
not resist hastened the end of the epoch of the castle as an enclosed impregnable fort and opened the door for the Renaissance, which prefers pleasant comfortable living, open space and beauty. Czech king Ferdinand I understood this trend verv well, when, at the beginning of the 1530's, he decided to extend the area of the Prague Castle further north and to create vast representative gardens in the manner of Renaissance landscape gardening, under the guidance of Italian experts, above the border of Jelení příkop.
The gardens, called Royal, were gradually enlarged and further modified. Pietro Mattioli, a famous botanist, who was employed in Prague as Ferdinanďs personal doctor, planted among other things also the first tulip bulbs, which were purchased at the king's request in Turkey. It was from here that the plant set out on its triumphant mission
16
through Europe - from Prague it spread to other countries of the continent, for instance to Holland, which was later so famous for it.
ln the course of the 16th century, especially during he reign of Rodolph II, many buildings appeared in the Gardens - apart from the Royal Summer Palace, which we describe separately, there is the Great Míčovna (Hall for the ball game), the Lion Court menagerie, fig tree conservatory, orangery, aviary, a firing range, various ponds and playthings including a maze. On ly the Baroque reconstruction following French style principles in the pl half of the 18th century definitively eliminated the damage caused by the Thirty-years War. The Gardens were given a symmetrical strictly axial appearance with regularly located ponds, flowerbeds and hedges and also an extensive sculpture decoration. In 1861-1862 a section of the area was modified as a natural landscape park.
Among the garden buildings the Great Míčovna is standing out,
a beautiful Renaissance building by Bonifác Wohlmut and Ulrik Aostalli from 1567-1569 with a lavish graffito decoration on the íacades, reconstructed after a fi re i n May 1945. There is also a Renaissance house for the gardener, a greenhouse from 1820, sculptures by Bernard Jiří Bendl and Matyáš Bernard Braun, in the front section there is the former private presidential residence, created by enlarging a Baroque house in the years 1937-1938.
Along the southern front of the Prague Cas-
tle above the Lesser T own there stretches a narrow strip of architectonically conceived gardens, cal led the Southern Gardens. Their present-day visual aspect is the work of [osip Plečnik from 1920-1924. They were formed by linking the Paradise Garden (Rajská zahrada) and Na Valech Garden, originating from the Renaissance period. In the gardens we can find a number of pavilions, observatory terraces, staircases, statues, fountains etc. Besides a pleasant walk the Southern Gardens can also offer spectacular views of Prague.
The gardens, called Royal, were gradually enlarged and further modified. Pietro Mattioli, a famous botanist, who was employed in Prague as Ferdinanďs personal doctor, planted among other things also the first tulip bulbs, which were purchased at the king's request in Turkey. It was from here that the plant set out on its triumphant mission
16
through Europe - from Prague it spread to other countries of the continent, for instance to Holland, which was later so famous for it.
ln the course of the 16th century, especially during he reign of Rodolph II, many buildings appeared in the Gardens - apart from the Royal Summer Palace, which we describe separately, there is the Great Míčovna (Hall for the ball game), the Lion Court menagerie, fig tree conservatory, orangery, aviary, a firing range, various ponds and playthings including a maze. On ly the Baroque reconstruction following French style principles in the pl half of the 18th century definitively eliminated the damage caused by the Thirty-years War. The Gardens were given a symmetrical strictly axial appearance with regularly located ponds, flowerbeds and hedges and also an extensive sculpture decoration. In 1861-1862 a section of the area was modified as a natural landscape park.