Františkánská zahrada, Public garden in New Town, Prague, Czech Republic.
Františkánská zahrada is a walled inner-block garden in Prague's New Town, laid out in a regular French Baroque plan with clipped hedges and roses. At its centre stands a square pavilion, now also a shop, ringed by a small herb garden behind a low fence. Benches and a sculptural fountain fill the grounds, and a gate bearing 24 reliefs of Saint Francis opens from the Alfa and Světozor passages.
The garden was founded in 1347 as a utility garden beside the Carmelite monastery with the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. From 1604 the Franciscans took over the monastery and renewed the garden repeatedly, giving it a regular ornamental layout with a Baroque chapel at its centre. In 1950, after the friars were interned, it opened to the public; between 1989 and 1992 it was rebuilt to a design by Otakar Kuča and Ivana Tichá.
The garden's name comes from the Franciscans, who took over the monastery in 1604 and renewed the garden several times. The square pavilion at its centre, a Baroque chapel converted after 1950, now serves as a small shop, and a herb garden fenced with a low railing surrounds it.
The garden sits between Wenceslas Square and Jungmann Square in the heart of the city and is easy to reach on foot; public transport options are abundant nearby. Early morning visits offer the quietest experience, as the garden becomes more crowded during afternoons and weekends.
The gate from the Alfa and Světozor passages is decorated with 24 figural reliefs linked to Saint Francis by Petr Císařovský. Inside, the fountain carries Stanislav Hanzík's sculptures Boy with a Shell (called David) and Aesop, while Josef Klimeš made the Divoženky a poletuchy fountain group with a drinking fountain.
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