History of the Park
The fortress located on the site of today's chateau was first mentioned in 1286. Ctěnice belonged to the Strahov monastery, and in the 14th century it came into the possession of wealthy Prague burghers. The chateau changed owners relatively frequently. The most famous were the Valdštejns, who renovated the Gothic fortress into a renaissance chateau around the year 1550.
In the 16th century vineyards covered the area around Vinoř. In the second half of the 18th century the chateau was modified by the last of the Losynthal family or the first of the Windischgrätz family to its current classic baroque form. In the 20th century it was nationalized and became a ruin under state administration. During the course of the chateau’s recent reconstruction the chateau park was refurbished as well. The renewal of the park took place in two stages: the renewal of the park itself and the realization of the gardens.
The idea of renovation
After 40 years of "care" by the state farm the park was devastated, in disrepair and overrun with weeds. The Ctěnice Stream was overflowing onto a broad floodplain and the valley was uniformly overgrown and inaccessible. The basic structure of the park remained intact, however. The park was divided by a flowing stream into two distinct parts. The north side was flat with an alley of apple trees preserved along one axis; the south side was forested and had steeply rising terrain.
We tried to preserve this contrast between the formal simplicity of the "French garden" and the natural countryside of the "English garden". In the northeast corner the park is supplemented with gardens and the park’s service facilities. The entire park is surrounded by the original rampart.
In 2006 the renewal of the chateau park was awarded in the Grand Prix of Architects competition.
Photogallery
