| Generální projektant | New Visit s.r.o. |
| Klient | Pražská informační služba 2002, Muzeum hlavního města Prahy 2013 |
| Autoři | ing. et ing. Tomáš Jiránek, ing. arch. David Prudík |
| Spoluautoři | ing. Adéla Jiránková, ing. Vlastimil Koupal |
Until 2004, the château park was in a state of complete devastation. Thanks to the vision of Ing. Václav Novotný, then director of the Prague Information Service, it was rehabilitated into a functional and representative space of garden art for the capital city of Prague.
The park is divided by the flowing stream into two distinct parts: the left bank features a formal neoclassical garden, while the right bank is shaped as an English-style, naturalistic landscape garden. The formal garden is flat and structured along the axis of the original apple tree alley. In contrast, the romantic English garden on the opposite bank is more wooded, with a dramatically rising terrain.
The Ctěnice Stream itself—revitalized into both a functional and aesthetic element of the château grounds—forms the park’s central compositional spine. The spatial composition is based on the contrast between full and empty spaces.
Awarded the 2007 Grand Prix of the Society of Czech Architects in the category of Landscape Architecture and Garden Design.
We aimed to preserve and reinforce the historical contrast between the formal simplicity of the “French garden” and the naturalistic composition of the “English garden.” In the northeastern corner, the park is complemented by a horticultural and maintenance facility serving the grounds. The entire park area is enclosed by the original perimeter wall.
The French garden is organized along the central axis of the former apple tree alley, culminating in a framed vista of a square apple tree bosquet composed of 64 trees. The path network follows an orthogonal layout. The perimeter wall of the château grounds runs along the edge of the garden, accompanied by a maple-lined avenue and a tall hedge.
The formal garden is set on a raised terrace above the stream valley, supported by an existing terrain edge. At its far end stands a cubic wooden-and-steel pavilion.
A key element of the design is the main stone bridge made of exposed concrete, faced externally with coursed sandstone cladding. Its railing is composed of oak slats. On secondary paths, smaller bridges are made entirely of wood—again using oak slats. These elements serve as connectors between the two contrasting worlds of the park.
The pavilion is an abstract white cube placed within the green of the lawn, with corners reinforced by jardinières and a floor made of oak blocks. The pavilion, along with the timber bridges, footbridge, and benches, is designed as a series of structural assemblies—combinations of beams, boards, and slats. All are stained white to tone down the romantic character of wood and to evoke its formal essence and elegance.
Subtle ground-level lighting softly illuminates the park, while the pavilion emits a gentle blue glow.
The English garden occupies the entire length of the park on the right bank of the Ctěnice Stream, in close proximity to the château. It mirrors the formal garden—like a world on the other side of a looking glass. This symbolism is embodied by a reflecting pond at the heart of the park, where the “second face” of the landscape is revealed in the water’s surface.
Near the château, the English garden appears as loosely scattered trees in an open meadow. As one progresses through the park, the composition becomes increasingly dramatic—sloping terrain, a groundcover of ivy, rocky outcrops—culminating in a framed view of a pond beyond the perimeter wall.
This part of the park is complemented by original romantic features: the château itself, a water-filled moat, a hermit’s grotto carved into the sandstone rock, and a spring at the foot of the slope. An integral part of the design is also the stream’s natural floodplain, with alder and willow vegetation lining its banks.
Château Horticultural Garden
The horticultural compound is a garden within a garden—functional, yet thoughtfully designed. It brings a new layer of quality to the château park: beauty and craftsmanship. It recalls the château’s historic kitchen garden and the vineyards that once surrounded Ctěnice in the 16th century.
Today, the grounds host the Ctěnice Château Horticultural Garden, led by landscape architect and gardener Ondřej Fous. The site presents the tradition of horticultural craftsmanship in an elegant way, alongside the diverse world of perennials.
A new service building, called Zmije (“Viper”), is situated along the northwestern perimeter wall. It is a lightweight timber structure, clad in horizontally laid boards over a batten substructure. In front of the building and the existing greenhouse lies a paved service area. At the center of the turning circle for maintenance vehicles, a Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum) has been planted.
