Castle Park, Castle park in Zahrádky, Czech Republic

Castle Park in Zahrádky stretches 470 metres northwest from the castle on a plateau above the Robečský potok valley. A modern metal fence divides the natural-landscape section managed by Charles University from the freely accessible southwestern part. The grounds hold over 500 trees, mostly deciduous, including a white poplar and a large summer oak at the main gate, plus a Douglas fir probably from the first half of the 19th century.

The park was founded in the first half of the 17th century by Albrecht von Wallenstein, who acquired the Zahrádky estate in 1623 as a post-White Mountain confiscation and held it until his death in 1634. During the Baroque rebuilding of the castle he had a large park with avenues laid out around it. In the 19th century it was reshaped as a landscape park on the ground plan of the former Baroque garden, with the main landscaping of the second half of the 19th century attributed to Albrecht Vincenc Kounic.

About seventy metres west of the castle, at the edge of the wooded section, stand baroque statues of Saint John of Nepomuk and Saint Barbara from the first half of the 18th century. They were moved here in 2001 from the stone bridge over the Bobří potok in the Wallenstein avenue, because that bridge was in poor condition.

The northeastern section is managed by Charles University, while the southwestern portion welcomes public visitors through marked entrances and pathways. Use the established routes to explore the full layout of the grounds.

The beetle Osmoderma barnabita lives in cavities of the park's deciduous trees; its presence here and in the nearby Valdštejnská alej led to the area being declared a European important site in 2005 and a nature monument in 2013. The grey and collared flycatchers and the kingfisher have also been recorded.