Botanic garden and arboretum in Štramberk, Botanical garden and arboretum in Štramberk, Czech Republic

The Botanic Garden and Arboretum in Štramberk occupies the Dolní Kamenárka limestone quarry and its surroundings, covering almost 10 hectares at 422 metres above sea level. Its terraced quarry floor holds rock gardens, small ponds, a stone labyrinth and the Pouťová Cave, discovered in 1999.

The site functioned as a limestone quarry starting in 1860, then transitioned to a municipal waste site after the quarry closed in the 1920s. A biologist launched the transformation into a botanical garden in 1996.

The stone labyrinth at the quarry floor was designed by landscape architect Ivar Otruba and built by the garden's founder Petr Pavlík. Its gabion walls carry a symbolic red thread of Ariadne leading to a centre with a peristyle and a solitary cedar, evoking the Minotaur myth and the saying that Štramberk is the northernmost outpost of the Mediterranean. In the western rocks stands the Rock Chapel of John the Baptist, a rediscovered historic consecrated image.

The garden is accessible by a path from the village of Štramberk, with parking available nearby. Wear sturdy footwear since the ground is uneven and becomes slippery when wet.

The quarry walls hold about 600 fossils, including crinoid stems, sea urchin spines, shark teeth, brachiopod shells and bryozoan colonies. Climbers use routes up to 30 m long here, the oldest laid out in 1934.