Průhonice Castle

Průhonice Castle is a residence in the town of Průhonice, just southeast of Prague, surrounded by a sweeping landscape park inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Today the building itself houses the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Who shaped the estate into what it is today?

The turning point in the estate's history came in 1885, when Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca took over the Průhonice property through his marriage to Marie Antonie Nostitz-Rieneck, who brought the estate into the union as her dowry. Silva-Tarouca, an enthusiastic botanist and collector of exotic plants, went far beyond the castle building itself — using the Botič stream and its tributaries, he laid out an English-style landscape park around the residence, combining native trees with species imported mainly from the Mediterranean.

What makes the surrounding park so significant?

The park covers roughly 250 hectares and holds more than 1,600 species of trees and shrubs, including one of the largest rhododendron collections in Europe, with over 8,000 specimens. It is this park, rather than the castle building on its own, that earned Průhonice its place on the UNESCO World Heritage list and its status as a Czech national heritage monument. Walking its paths along the ponds formed on the Botič stream reveals a landscape composition planned on the grand scale typical of the great 19th-century English gardens.

What happened to the castle after 1927?

In 1927, facing financial difficulties, Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca sold both the castle and the park to the Czechoslovak state. Since then the property has remained in public hands, and its story has shifted from the private seat of an aristocratic family to a home for scientific research.

What is the castle used for today?

The castle building now houses the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which carries out research into plant life and vegetation diversity. A residence built as a private aristocratic seat has thus become a research institution, closely tied to the park around it — a living dendrological laboratory that has been developing for well over a century.

How should you plan a visit?

Průhonice sits right on the southeastern edge of Prague, in the Praha-východ district, making it an easy day trip from the Czech capital. The park is at its most striking in spring, when the rhododendrons and azaleas bloom, though the autumn foliage of the trees introduced by Silva-Tarouca is just as dramatic. As the castle now serves as a research institute, its interiors are generally not open for general sightseeing — the main draw for visitors remains the park that surrounds it.

Frequently asked questions

Who created the park and castle grounds as they appear today? Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca, who took over the estate in 1885 and spent decades developing an English-style landscape park around the castle.

Why was Průhonice added to the UNESCO World Heritage list? Because of its roughly 250-hectare landscape park, home to more than 1,600 plant species and one of Europe's largest rhododendron collections, rather than the castle building alone.

What is housed in the castle today? The Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, which conducts scientific research on plant life.

When did the castle stop belonging to the Silva-Tarouca family? In 1927, when the count sold both the castle and the park to the Czechoslovak state due to financial difficulties.