Rose Garden, rose garden in Konopiště, Czech Republic

The Rose Garden at Konopiště Castle covers about 5 hectares and is divided into a lower parterre laid out in French style and an upper section around a 1,200 m² greenhouse. The parterre holds the rose beds, obelisks, stone vases and a nine-metre Lucretia statue, with a lily pond and alpine garden to the south.

The garden was created between 1906 and 1913 for Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este and his wife Sophie, on the site of an old Baroque garden southeast of Konopiště Castle. Plans came from Vienna court gardener Karl Mösmer and Prague head gardener Karel Rozínek, with plants supplied from Austria-Hungary and Thuringia. It was completed in 1913, nationalised in 1921, badly damaged in the final months of World War II, and redesigned in 1962 by Bohumil Kavka and Milada Opatrná.

The garden's name comes from its rose plantings, and its centrepiece is a nine-metre Cleopatra column flanked by four obelisks. Sculptures and stone vases brought from the Castello del Catajo near Padua, some inherited by Franz Ferdinand and some bought by him, stand among the beds. Peacocks are kept in the garden.

The garden is best visited during spring and summer months when the roses are in bloom and displaying their colors. Access is through the castle grounds, and comfortable shoes are recommended since you walk along maintained pathways.

The original 1913 layout remains visible today, showing how gardens of that period were planned and organized. The symmetrical paths and beds were designed to integrate into the larger parkland while maintaining their own geometric character.