Průhonice Castle park, UNESCO Heritage landscape park near Prague, Czech Republic

Průhonice Park is a landscape park in the valley of the Botič stream, about 15 km southeast of Prague. Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca expanded it from 1885 to nearly 250 hectares, reshaping ponds and building weirs and cascades. The park holds a large alpine rock garden and plant collections, and the Romanesque Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, consecrated in 1187, stands within its grounds.

Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca acquired the Průhonice estate by marriage in 1885 and began reshaping the neglected romantic park in autumn 1886, after a dispute over felling old oaks. He enlarged it to almost 250 hectares, expanded the ponds and built weirs and spillways. In 1927 the state took over the estate and established agricultural research stations there.

The park's name and fame rest on Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva-Tarouca, who began reshaping the neglected romantic park in autumn 1886 after a dispute with the estate's forest administration over the felling of old oaks. Rhododendrons and azaleas bred here by Bohumil Kavka, Jan Jelínek and later Jaromír Scholz became widely known.

The park can be explored on foot with several entry points, and sturdy shoes are recommended due to the rolling terrain and varied paths. Some areas are easier to navigate in certain seasons, and woodland trails can become muddy after rain.

The park's oldest structure is the Romanesque Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, consecrated in 1187, which stands within the grounds. Count Silva-Tarouca, disappointed by state upkeep of the alpine garden, helped establish the one at Bečov nad Teplou, where his daughter Marie-Adelheid had married.