Diana

The statue of Diana is a neoclassical sculpture of the Roman goddess of the hunt, tucked into a quiet corner of Cibulka Park in Prague's Košíře district. It stands right above a small pond crossed by a stone footbridge, and nearby bubbles a spring that carries her name, the Diana Spring. Together with a statue of Zeus in another part of the same park, it survives as a fragment of a larger 19th-century ensemble of mythological sculptures.

Where exactly does the statue stand?

The sculpture sits in the lower part of Cibulka forest park, along the path leading from the pond toward the park's stone lookout tower. The coordinates 50.063584, 14.356364 mark a spot right above the water, shaded by mature trees, much as the park's 19th-century designers intended, so that visitors would come upon the figure unexpectedly around a bend in the path rather than see it from the main route.

Why are there statues of ancient gods in Cibulka?

The park grew up around the Baroque Cibulka manor house, whose grounds the Chotek family had redesigned in the 19th century as an English landscape garden. The owners scattered the grounds with romantic follies: an artificial castle ruin doubling as a lookout tower, one of the oldest in Prague, a Chinese pavilion, a hermitage, and a set of statues depicting ancient deities, including Diana and Zeus. The combination of sculptures and architectural "ruins" was meant to suggest that the park concealed the remains of an antique temple, a device common to 19th-century romantic gardens, which deliberately blended real nature with staged history.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

A few dozen metres from the statue, just above the pond, is the Diana spring mentioned above. Following the park's paths further leads to the stone lookout tower shaped like a ruined castle, as well as the remnants of other romantic structures from the estate's heyday, including the sites of the former Chinese pavilion and hermitage. The whole area now functions as a public forest park, popular with residents of Košíře and Prague 5 for walks and jogging away from the bustle of the city centre.

How should you plan a visit?

Cibulka forest park has no single main entrance or marked sightseeing route; it is a large green area best explored at a leisurely pace, stopping at each "station" of the former romantic garden in turn. It is worth combining a visit to the Diana statue with a walk to the pond, the spring, and the lookout tower, allowing at least an hour for the whole loop if you want time to take photos without rushing.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Diana, the goddess shown in the statue? Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and the moon, equivalent to the Greek Artemis. In Cibulka Park her statue forms part of a wider ensemble of mythological sculptures.

Is entry to the park and the statue free? Yes, Cibulka forest park is open to the public at all times, free of charge.

How do you get to the Diana statue? The easiest way is on foot from the Košíře side, heading into the park toward the pond and the stone lookout tower; the statue stands right above the water, close to the spring that shares its name.

Is there anything else worth seeing nearby? Yes, the Diana spring, the statue of Zeus, the stone lookout tower, and the remains of the Chinese pavilion and hermitage together form a romantic ensemble within the former manor park.