Riegrovy sady
Riegrovy sady (Rieger Gardens) is an 11-hectare park in the Vinohrady cadastral area of Prague 2.[1] It lies between Polská, Chopinova, U Rajské zahrady and Italská streets.[3] Since 1958 the whole park has been protected as a cultural monument ensemble.[1]*
History
The park occupies the site of the former Kanálka garden, founded at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries by Count Josef Emanuel Canal de Malabaila. The garden was divided into building plots in 1895.[1] Land from other homesteads and former vineyards was also added to the park.[3] The park was laid out in 1904–1908 by Leopold Batěk, garden director of Vinohrady, after the municipality of Královské Vinohrady bought the land.[3] It was designed as an English-style park.[2]
Until 1902 it was called the Municipal Gardens of Královské Vinohrady. It was then named after the politician František Ladislav Rieger (1818–1903). During the German occupation it was called Smetana Gardens.[1] In 1938 the park was reduced by the construction of the Sokol gymnasium.[3] The Sokol building has been a cultural monument since 2007.[1]
Monuments and buildings
The park contains a bronze monument to F. L. Rieger by the sculptor J. V. Myslbek from 1913. A 4.5-metre sandstone obelisk from around 1840 is a remnant of the group of sculptures from the Kanálka estate. Other protected features are a late Neoclassical lookout building and the remains of the entrance gate of the garden complex from the 1840s.[2] The lookout building was repaired in 2007 and the gate in 2018. Some 120 species of trees and shrubs grow in the park.[1]
Sports grounds, 2026
In September 2026 the Prague 2 district opened a renovated sports area next to the Sokol Královské Vinohrady building. It has a multi-purpose pitch for football and basketball, a parkour section, a climbing wall, children's play equipment and a fitness zone. The work cost CZK 8.7 million excluding VAT.[4][5] As late as 2025 two unauthorised structures stood on the plots. The district plans a multi-purpose hall here in the future, to be designed through an architectural competition.[5]
Sources
* The sources are collected and the preliminary text of this entry is drafted with artificial intelligence, on the instruction of the editorial staff; the entry has not yet been verified by an editor — report a mistake.