Royal Garden

The site of the royal garden was a vineyard when Emperor Ferdinand I purchased the site to create a garden exclusively for the Prague Castle's royal court. The garden was designed in Italian renaissance style by Genoese architect and sculptor Paolo della Stella and Bonifác Wohlmut, a German architect.

The Royal garden was not just used by the royal court for relaxation, the royals also cultivated exotic plants and there was a lion courtyard housing exotic animals. One of the exotic plants cultivated here were the first tulips in Europe, imported from Turkey in 1554.

Over the years, the Royal Garden has undergone significant changes. During the Thirty Years' War the garden was severely damaged. It was rebuilt soon after the war in the original renaissance style. In the 18th century it was however recreated as a Baroque garden.
The Royal Garden was ruined again during another war at the end of the 18th century; a theatre building was destroyed in the process. In the 19th century much of the garden was remodeled and laid out in English Style with open grass areas and less formal flowerbeds, which is how the garden still looks today.

The garden was closed to the public for centuries until in 2002, when after an extensive renovation, the garden became accessible to visitors.

The royal garden houses a number of important buildings. The most significant one is the Belvedere, also known as the Queen Anne's residence or Royal Summer Residence (Královsky letohrádek).
The beautiful renaissance style structure was built as an entertainment hall for Ferdinand I's wife, Queen Anne. Designed by the Italian Paolo della Stella, it was constructed between 1535 and 1563. After della Stella's death in 1552, Hans Tirol and Bonifác Wohlmut completed the building.
In front of the building is an Italian style garden with a fountain at its center. The fountain, built in 1568, is known as the singing fountain as the falling drops seem to make a 'singing sound', at least when you are located right under the bowl.

Another interesting building in the Royal Garden is the Ball Game Hall (Míčovna). It was built in 1569 for Ferdinand I's successor, emperor Maximilian II and created after a design by Bonifác Wohlmut.The building's exterior is decorated with beautiful sgraffito.
The hall was originally built to hold indoor sports events but during the 18th century it was used as a stable and later as an army depot.
During the Second World War the building burned to the ground after Nazis set it on fire. It was restored in the 1950s and is now used as a music and conference hall.

Some other notable buildings in the Royal Garden are the orangery and the former Presidential Residence, built in the mid-20th century. Across the street from the Royal Garden is the Riding School (Jízdárna), a baroque building designed by Jean-Baptiste Mathey and completed in 1694.