Průhonice
Municipality with a UNESCO-listed castle park near Prague.
Průhonice is a municipality and village in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, located on the Botič Stream in the Prague Plateau. It is known for the Průhonice Castle and its castle park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle complex is protected as a national cultural monument.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 1187
- Area (km²)
- 7.69
- Elevation (m)
- 306
- Population
- 2867
Facts from the source article.
History
The first written mention of Průhonice dates to 1187, when the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was consecrated. The Lords of Průhonice were the first documented owners in the 1270s. In the 14th century the Lords of Říčany held the village, and in the 16th century the Zapský of Zápy family rebuilt the castle into a Renaissance residence. The Desfours family owned the estate in the 18th century, followed by the Nostitz-Rieneck family in the 19th century, under whom the castle was rebuilt in the Neoclassical style.
Sights
The Průhonice Castle and its park are the most important monument. The park, founded in 1885 by Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva Tarouca, is described as an original masterpiece of garden landscape architecture of worldwide importance. It covers 250 ha, with 211.42 ha designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as part of the Historic Centre of Prague) since 2010. The castle's current Neo-Renaissance appearance results from reconstruction in 1889–1894. Since 1927 the state has owned the castle, which houses the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Within the park stands the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the oldest preserved building in the municipality, originally Romanesque and later extended in Gothic and Baroque styles. The Dendrological Garden, founded in the 1970s, covers 73 ha and contains about 5,000 taxa of woody plants and perennials.
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