The Botanical Garden of the Capital City of Prague is a municipal contributory organisation with grounds in Prague-Troja, established by a resolution of 1968 and existing since 1 January 1969.
The Prague Botanical Garden of the Capital City of Prague was established by a resolution of the plenary session of the National Committee of the Capital City of Prague in 1968 and officially began to exist on 1 January 1969. Its grounds lie in Troja, in the Podhoří area.[1]
Origin and choice of site
Jan Jager, later the first director, submitted a proposal for a state botanical garden as early as 1958. As possible sites he named the park in Průhonice, the upper part of the Šárka valley and the area between the Motol Stream and the Cibulka estate in Košíře. Troja was first proposed as a location in March 1965 by the then Office of the Chief Architect in the master plan of the Troja Basin, which contained a plan for a smaller garden in the area of today's Havránka natural monument. At that time the relocation of the Faculty of Science of Charles University to Troja was foreseen, and the garden was to be part of the university campus.[1]
Because the area around Havránka was too small, the Agricultural Department of the National Committee proposed relocating north of the zoo, to the area between the Podhoří and Velká skála reserves. The Office of the Chief Architect accepted this proposal in March 1966. Resolution No. 111 of 30 April 1968 gave consent to the building of the garden in Troja, Podhoří, under the name Pražská botanická zahrada, as an independent budgetary organisation within the National Committee, with its establishment on 1 January 1969.[1]
Management and development until 1989
The first director was Jan Jager, who led the garden from 1 January 1969 to 31 December 1973. Together with the Union of Architects he announced a competition for the conceptual design of the garden, but the design was never fully carried out. From 1973 to 1989 the garden was run by Josef Vyskočil. During his tenure the area around the administration building in Nádvorní street was gradually turned into display areas. In 1975 a large cultivation garden was established in Na Farkách street near the Bohnice housing estate, and another cultivation site was founded by K Pazderkám street.[1]
In 1982 the protected areas of Podhoří, Salabka and Havránka were declared within the grounds; the whole garden area became their buffer zone. A new development study was produced in 1984 at the Prague Design Institute, comprising surveys, a libretto for the garden and a master plan for further development, which was however never put into effect.[1]
Collections
Even in the period of stagnating construction, a rich assortment of plants was gathered in the garden: evergreen broadleaf and coniferous woody plants, miniature roses, garden hybrids of irises and botanical bulbous plants. A bonsai collection was also created, one of the first in the republic. The Index plantarum of 1979 listed 1,889 species and cultivars. The garden held iris exhibitions, natural-science competitions, lectures for schools and holiday camps.[1] A functioning garden open to the public, however, did not arise in Troja before 1989.[1]
Newer buildings
The Fata Morgana greenhouse was built in 2001, and in 2008 an old building referred to as the likusák was demolished.[1]