Nosticova zahrada (Nostitz Garden) in Prague

Nosticova zahrada is a small garden in Prague's Malá Strana district, tucked between Maltézské náměstí (Maltese Square) and Kampa Island, right along the bank of the Čertovka stream. It's the kind of place that's easy to miss even though it sits only a few minutes' walk from the crowds on Charles Bridge — less a sightseeing stop, more a quiet shortcut and a pocket of calm in the middle of the historic centre.

Where does the garden come from?

The garden was laid out in the 1760s as part of the Nostitz Palace estate on Maltese Square. Originally it stretched across both banks of the Čertovka stream, with the two halves — west and east — connected by a wooden footbridge. Splitting a garden across a waterway like this wasn't unusual for Malá Strana palace estates of the period, since the Čertovka's channels had long served as natural boundaries between aristocratic properties in the district.

What survives of it today?

Only the western half of the original layout remains as a garden in its own right — a rectangular plot of roughly half a hectare. The eastern section, on the other side of the stream, was eventually absorbed into the neighbouring Kampa Park and today reads as part of that larger green space rather than a separate garden. The old east-west split still shows up in the fact that the two green areas sit right next to each other and flow together visually, even though they belong to different properties on paper.

What does the garden look like now?

Nosticova zahrada today is a modest, well-kept lawn dotted with individually planted trees. Shrubs and small groups of trees are concentrated mostly along the edges of the plot, framing the open, mown centre. There's nothing ornamental here in the sense of flower beds or formal garden features — it's a plain, green, walkable space rather than a showpiece.

How do you get there, and how does it connect to Kampa?

The garden borders Kampa Park directly and is linked to it by a small bridge over the Čertovka. In practice, that makes Nosticova zahrada feel like a natural extension of Kampa — people walking from Kampa toward Maltese Square or Velkopřevorské náměstí (less than 150 metres away) often cross through here without necessarily noticing they've left one park and entered another. Access is free and unrestricted: there are no gates or opening hours, and the space is open to residents and visitors at all times.

Does it have any protected status?

The garden is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic together with the adjoining Nostitz Palace, with which it historically formed a single estate. The protection covers mainly the layout and overall character of the grounds rather than specific plantings, which — as with most historic gardens — have been renewed and replaced many times over the centuries.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Nosticova zahrada located? In Prague's Malá Strana district (Prague 1), on Maltézské náměstí, right by the Čertovka stream and next to Kampa Park.

When was the garden created? In the 1760s, as part of the Nostitz Palace estate.

How big is the garden today? The surviving section covers about 0.5 hectares on a rectangular plot.

Is there an entrance fee? No, the garden is freely accessible at any time, with no admission charge.

Is it the same as Kampa Park? Not quite — they are neighbouring but separate grounds, linked by a footbridge over the Čertovka. Historically, the eastern part of today's Kampa Park actually belonged to the Nostitz garden.