Papírenský park

Papírenský park is a green space in the Slovany district of Plzeň, on Habrová street, that grew up around a former paper mill and the villa of the Piette family. It's a place where industrial history meets an English-style garden - a park that was closed off from the public for years and is only now slowly being brought back to the city.

Where is Papírenský park located?

The park sits in the Slovany district of Plzeň, on Habrová street, next to the former paper mill complex. It's away from the usual sightseeing routes through the historic centre, but worth a look for anyone curious about the industrial side of Plzeň's past.

Where does the name come from and what is the site's history?

The park's name comes directly from the paper mill (papírna) that once stood on the site. Paper production started here in 1873, but the mill soon went bankrupt and was taken over by the P. Piette company in 1878. A few years later, around 1884-1885, the mill's new technical director, Ludvík Piette, had a historicizing villa built next to the factory, surrounded by an extensive garden that ran along the entire southern edge of the mill grounds. That garden became the basis of today's park - laid out in the English landscape style, with a wide variety of tree species and a small pond.

How did the park change over the years?

During the interwar period, the park was gradually opened to a wider public - at first, only factory workers were allowed to use it. After the Second World War, both the mill and the park were nationalised. Under communism, the Piette villa served as a factory canteen, complete with a kitchen and library, run by the state enterprise Západočeské papírny (West Bohemian Paper Mills). After the Velvet Revolution, the mill kept operating for around another fifteen years, until paper production finally stopped in 2004.

What is the state of the park today?

Since the mill closed, the site has spent a long time in private hands and has not been properly maintained. A small part of the complex, next to a kindergarten, is managed by the city and open to the public, while nearly two-thirds of the area remains fenced off and overgrown with invasive tree species. In 2013, the entire former mill complex, including the building that now houses a cultural centre, was granted heritage protection.

Will the park be restored?

The city of Plzeň is working to bring the whole park under municipal management and has already prepared a revitalisation study for the site. The first concrete step was clearing the park and removing dangerous and invasive trees, work that began around the turn of the last year. When asked what they'd like to see in a restored park, residents mostly named trees, quiet, and a small body of water - the very features the park already had in its 19th-century form.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Papírenský park? The park is located in the Slovany district of Plzeň, on Habrová street, next to the former local paper mill complex.

Where does the park's name come from? The name comes from the paper mill that operated on the site from 1873, first independently and then, from 1878, under the P. Piette company.

When was the park itself created? The park grew out of a garden laid out next to the Piette family villa around 1884-1885, designed in the English style with a small pond.

Is the park open to visitors today? Only partly - the section next to the kindergarten is publicly accessible and managed by the city, while most of the grounds remain fenced off and neglected.

Is a restoration of the park planned? Yes, the city of Plzeň has prepared a revitalisation study and has already started preliminary clean-up work, aiming to bring the entire site under municipal management.