Břevnov Monastery garden

Břevnov Monastery garden is a sprawling, terraced garden attached to the oldest male Benedictine monastery in the Czech Republic, in Prague's Břevnov district. Laid out in the first half of the 18th century, the Baroque garden still frames a visit to the monastery and its neighboring brewery today, offering a quiet stroll well away from the bustle of central Prague.

Where did the monastery behind the garden come from?

Břevnov Monastery was founded at the end of the 10th century by Duke Boleslav II and the second Bishop of Prague, St Adalbert (Vojtěch). According to tradition, the two men shared the same dream on the same night, in which God instructed them to found a Benedictine monastery at the spring of the Brusnice stream — and they met exactly at the spot shown to them in the dream. The monastery that resulted is considered the oldest male monastery in the Czech lands.

Who designed the garden visitors walk through today?

The garden's present terraced layout is the work of architect Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, who began work in 1718 and made final adjustments between 1737 and 1738. His design produced a cascading arrangement of terraces, fountains, stairways, an orangery, an orchard and a pleached hornbeam avenue, together with two ornamental ponds dating from the mid-18th century.

What is tucked away in the lower garden?

The lower part of the garden holds the Vojtěška pavilion, the abbot's summer house built over the spring of the Brusnice stream. Its Baroque appearance was likewise the work of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, added between 1722 and 1725. The spring itself is covered by a Gothic cross-vault — the last visible fragment of the monastery's original medieval fabric still standing today.

Why pair it with a visit to the monastery?

The garden is a natural extension of a walk through the Břevnov monastery complex, which is also known for its working monastery brewery. Wandering its terraces and avenues reveals a Baroque garden composition set directly against the monastery buildings, and shows how 18th-century architects blended a garden's practical role with its representative one.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Břevnov Monastery garden located? In Prague's Břevnov district, within the monastery complex founded at the end of the 10th century.

Who designed the garden? Architect Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, who worked on it from 1718, with final touches added in 1737-1738.

What is the Vojtěška pavilion? A Baroque abbot's summer house from 1722-1725, built over the spring of the Brusnice stream in the lower garden.

What is the oldest surviving element of the garden? The Gothic cross-vault covering the Brusnice stream spring, the last visible trace of the monastery's original medieval structure.

Is Břevnov Monastery the oldest in the Czech Republic? Yes, it is considered the oldest male Benedictine monastery in the Czech lands, founded at the end of the 10th century.