Vrtbovský palác

Vrtbovský palác (Vrtba Palace) is a Baroque palace on Karmelitská street in Prague's Malá Strana district, best known for the terraced garden hidden behind its unassuming street front — widely regarded as one of the most beautiful garden compositions in the city. Where the facade gives little away, the grounds behind it were, for generations, the pride of the Vrtba family.

Where does the palace's name come from?

The name comes from the Counts of Vrtba, a Czech noble family who, after 1631, merged and rebuilt in Baroque style several older burgher houses that had previously stood on the site. That rebuilding gave the residence roughly the form it retains today and tied its name to the family for centuries to come.

Who designed the famous garden?

The palace's most important later chapter belongs to the architect František Maxmilián Kaňka, who carried out a further reconstruction of the whole property and, alongside it, designed the terraced garden behind the palace. The garden was laid out between 1715 and 1720 for Jan Josef, Count of Vrtba. Kaňka worked with other leading artists of the day on its decoration: the sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun, whose workshop supplied statues and stucco ornamentation, and the painter Václav Vavřinec Reiner, who painted the frescoes in the garden pavilions.

What makes the Vrtba Garden distinctive?

The Vrtba Garden belongs to the Italian type of Baroque garden design. Climbing in terraces up the slope below Petřín hill, its layout recalls the Renaissance and early Baroque gardens of Italy, with their taste for symmetry, sculpture, and an intimate, almost secluded atmosphere. Successive terraces, linked by staircases and dressed with urns and statues, build a theatrical sequence in which architecture and greenery are closely interwoven, and the upper terraces open onto views across the rooftops of Malá Strana.

What happened to the palace and garden after the Vrtba family?

The Vrtba family held the estate until 1799, and shortly afterward, in 1807, the property passed under the administration of the Karlov hospital. Classicist alterations to the whole palace complex were completed in 1845, adding Empire-style pavilions within the garden. Over the following decades the estate changed hands and uses repeatedly, and the garden itself gradually fell into disrepair — from 1985 it was closed to visitors altogether for thirteen years because of its poor condition.

When did the garden reopen to the public?

The turning point came with a thorough reconstruction carried out during the 1990s. Restoration work, covering the terraces, staircases, statues, and garden pavilions alike, was completed in 1998, and the Vrtba Garden was ceremonially reopened to visitors on 3 June of that year. Since then it has remained one of the few once-private Malá Strana residences whose Baroque garden can be visited in something close to its original form.

What should visitors look out for?

Visitors enter the garden through the palace's entrance hall on Karmelitská street, from where a route climbs the terraces up the hillside. Along the way there are stuccoes, statues by Braun's workshop, frescoes by Reiner, and 18th-century garden pavilions to take in, while the uppermost terraces offer sweeping views over Malá Strana's rooftops. The garden is a popular choice for those looking for a quieter, more intimate alternative to the city's busier palace gardens.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Vrtbovský palác located? The palace stands in Prague's Malá Strana district, on Karmelitská street, close to Petřín hill.

When was the palace built, and who redesigned it? The palace took roughly its present form after 1631 under the Counts of Vrtba, with a further Baroque reconstruction carried out by architect František Maxmilián Kaňka in the early 18th century.

Who designed the garden behind the palace? The garden was designed by František Maxmilián Kaňka between 1715 and 1720, with sculptor Matyáš Bernard Braun and painter Václav Vavřinec Reiner contributing its statues and frescoes.

Can the garden be visited today? Yes — following a thorough restoration, the Vrtba Garden reopened to the public on 3 June 1998 and remains open to visitors.