The Castle Garden

The Castle Garden was established after 1509 and over the centuries it was modified several times, reflecting the changing styles and fashions. From the 16th century orchard it was rebuilded to grand-scale English landscape garden in the 17th century, before being enlarged to the impressive size of 64 hectares in 1850. It holds over 200 different species of trees and shrubs from all over the Europe, America, and Asia.

Free-moving peacocks are a typical feature of the Castle Garden. Visitors often find their beautiful and colorful feathers and keep them as souvenirs from the Garden. – © Milan Mikšík

The Chateau Garden was built during an episcopate of Bishop Karl von Lichtenstein-Castelcorno who was also the founder of the Castle, the Flower Garden and the whole town of Kroměříž. – © Dana Klimešová

Kroměříž is also called the Athens of Haná. There is a long folklore tradition. – © Tomas Vrtal

The Castle Garden is not only home for more than 200 species of flowers, bushes and trees but also many animals like for example pecocks, hens, cocks, ducks or rabbits. – © Olomouc Museum of Arts

During the 18th century, the Garden was transformed from an orchard to a natural way. – © Dana Klimešová

Free-moving peacocks are a typical feature of the Castle Garden. Visitors often find their beautiful and colorful feathers and keep them as souvenirs from the Garden. – © Milan Mikšík

The early days of the Garden reach back to the late Medieval Period and Early Renaissance – when a small orchard was laid down together with a decorative garden with several water features and a number of artfully arranged ornamental flowerbeds.

The period of glorious flourishing and the expansion of the Castle Garden came with the episcopate of the Bishop Karl von Lichtenstein-Castelcorno in the second half of the 17th century. – © Olomouc Museum of Arts

The main design and construction boom came with the highly educated Bishop Karl von Liechtenstein-Castelcorno in the second half of the 17th century. The town of Kroměříž was recovering after Thirty Years’ War during which almost the whole town was destroyed by the Swedish troops. The Bishop, therefore, started to restore Kroměříž. Beside other things, he founded two ornamental gardens – the Pleasure (Flower) Garden, and the Castle Garden.

The Mandarian Pavilion is one of the most photographed places in the Garden. – © Dana Klimešová

The year 1777 was very important for the Olomouc Diocese. The Bishopric was promoted to Archbishopric and Bishop Anton Theodor Colloredo-Waldsee became the first Archbishop of Olomouc. It was him who redesigned the Garden into a new form, which featured both, the formal Rococo parterre and the designed landscape park with a number of unusual structures reflecting Greek, Chinese, Turkish, and other styles.

Colloredo Colonnade and giardino secreto is now a remembrance of the episcopate of Anton Theodor Colloredo-Waldsee, the first Archbishop of Olomouc, and the redesigning of the Castle Garden during his episcopacy. – © Dana Klimešová

The most fundamental change of the Garden, however, came in the first third of the 19th century, following the arrival of new Archbishop of Olomouc, Ferdinand Maria Chotek. The sentimental garden was transformed into a Romantic park in the English style. Archbishop Chotek, however, did not live to see the materialisation of his conception. His successor, Archbishop Maximillian Joseph Sommerau-Beckh, therefore, carried on the work and gave the Garden its contemporary shape.

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The Castle Garden

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