Castle park in Zákupy

Zákupy Castle Park is a historic garden attached to the château in Zákupy, in the Liberec Region of northern Bohemia. It stands out among Czech castle grounds for pairing two very different garden traditions on one site — a formal Baroque terrace garden and a sprawling English-style landscape park — making it a rewarding stop for anyone exploring the area around Česká Lípa.

How did the park come about?

The garden's roots go back to the 17th century, when the grounds around Zákupy château were first laid out in an Italian Baroque style. This began after 1670, during the rule of the House of Saxe-Lauenburg, when Duke Julius Francis of Saxe-Lauenburg had the château itself rebuilt from a Renaissance residence into a Baroque one — and the surrounding garden was shaped to match.

Who gave the park its Italian character?

The garden's most distinctive features date from the 52-year reign of Anna Maria Franziska, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Around 1680, under her direction, the grounds took on a strongly Italian appearance: two terraces linked by a central staircase, retaining walls set with niches and water cascades, and a growing collection of sculpture throughout the garden. The waterworks needed to feed those cascades and fountains weren't finished until 1710–1711, decades into her tenure, which shows how gradually the ornamental garden reached its final form.

What does the park look like today?

The layout still reflects that two-stage history. Closest to the château sits a compact Baroque garden with terraces and partly weathered balustrades, now generally referred to as the French garden. Below it stretches a much larger landscaped section, known as the English park, planted with dozens of trees and threaded by a network of maintained walking paths. At its heart is a small lake with an islet, and the whole park is enclosed by stone ramparts pierced by two gates. This combination of a formal garden close to the residence and an informal landscape park further out was a common arrangement for aristocratic estates around the turn of the 19th century.

What happened to the château and park afterward?

In 1805 the château and its park passed into Habsburg ownership. After 1851 it served as a summer residence for Emperor Ferdinand I, who spent much of his time here following his abdication. It wasn't until after 1951 that the château and its adjoining park came under the care of heritage preservation authorities, and the former imperial summer retreat was finally opened to the public in full.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Zákupy Castle Park located? The park surrounds the château in the town of Zákupy, in the Liberec Region of northern Bohemia, Czech Republic.

What makes this park different from a typical Baroque garden? It combines two contrasting sections — a formal Baroque terrace garden with cascades and sculpture close to the château, known today as the French garden, and a much larger, informal English-style landscape park with a lake and islet.

Who shaped the park's current design? Anna Maria Franziska, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, is credited with giving the garden its Italian Baroque character during her 52-year rule, adding the terraces, cascades and sculpture around 1680.

Can the château and park be visited today? Yes. Since coming under heritage protection after 1951, the former imperial summer residence and its park have been fully open to visitors.