Lumbe's garden, Palace garden in Hradčany, Czech Republic

Lumbe's Garden, also called the Production Gardens of Prague Castle, lies on the northern forecourt of Prague Castle at the level of the Royal Garden, next to the Lumbe Villa where the president lives. Its roughly 4 hectares are split evenly between an ornamental section with a functional beehive designed by Josip Plečnik in 1934 and a Rudolfine fire pond, and a productive section with three modern greenhouses covering about 2,100 m², flower beds and a compost yard.

Archaeological investigation between 2012 and 2014 revealed that the site served as a burial ground during the early medieval period, roughly the 9th to 11th centuries, for members of the early Czech state elite. Excavations showed these individuals were interred with valuable objects including gold and silver ornaments that reflected their social standing.

The gardens supply the flowers and plants that decorate Prague Castle during state visits and state dinners, with all produce consumed at these protocol events. The Masaryk beehive, designed by Josip Plečnik in 1934, still houses eight bee colonies. The grounds open to the public only on rare occasions, such as in September 2010, when 17,000 visitors saw them in a single weekend.

The gardens are closed to visitors; they have opened only on rare occasions, such as in September 2010, when about 17,000 people saw them over a single weekend, and again in September 2011. They lie on the northern forecourt of Prague Castle, level with the Royal Garden, beside the Lumbe Villa where the president lives.

Buried in the soil of this garden are 141 medieval graves with artifacts that reveal high-ranking individuals were once interred here, including ornaments from the Great Moravian realm and Frankish territories. This discovery layered two completely different epochs of history onto the same piece of land.