Walking and bike tourism | Slavkov u Brna - Austerlitz

The park at Slavkov castle is an integral part of the whole castle area and it is one of the most important historic gardens in Moravia. Its area is 15.5 ha. Today’s look of the park is the result of modifications carried out in connection with the castle adaptation to new architectural styles.

In 1700, under the reign of Dominik Ulrich of Kaunitz, who initiated the Baroque reconstruction of the castle, the flower parterre with two pools, a fountain by Petr Wiliam and an orangery (casino) decorated by frescoes by Andrea Lanzani were established under the supervision of Dutch experts. The sculptures of Giovanni Giuliani and Ignác Lengelach were placed about in ideological spots depicting mostly mythological creatures and allegories. In the second stage, Václav Petruzzi, who was in charge not only of the construction of the castle but also of the running works in the castle park, elaborated a plan of interconnection of the castle with the parterre. The parterre was now accessible by a bridge with several stairs over the moat. Along the full length of the castle frontage, the parterre was decorated by avenues of trees. On both sides there were two pools and along the main axis four groves with a maze and fountains.

The biggest credit for the completion of the whole castle complex is to be given to Václav Antonín, Count of Kaunitz and Rietberg. A few years after he took up his property, he not only finished the construction but also completed the overall shape of the castle park that was enlarged at the cost of the demolished structure of the parish church of St Jacob and the municipal tower. The main parterre was changed to a transversal axis with three fountains. the crossing in the hillside between the upper transversal parterre and the lower part of the garden was newly established. A long water channel was changed into a set of three pools. The parterre was decorated by a group of sculptures and vases. In the second half of the 18th century, other small buildings (an aviary) and a preserved Chinese gazebo were placed in the park.

In the second half of the 19th century, the garden changed to an English park, the thickets were taken out and replaced by greenery arranged along the main longitudinal axis. The pools were covered and Baroque sculptures put in the castle courtyard. Some of them, however, remained in the newly created romantic corners of the park. In the 1970s, the park was lavishly reconstructed. It was based on the project from 1774 and it partially gave the parterre back its former Baroque appearance. The central motive of such architectural composition was based on two garden pools installed in the axis of the western entrance with a pair of water reservoirs located beyond this axis. The area was decorated by freely situated Baroque sculptures of mythological creatures on plinths decorated by cartouches relocated from the courtyard back to the castle park.

The restored castle park was reopened at the occasion of the UNESCO symposium on Baroque gardens held in September 1977. Since 1996, a 6-hole golf course has been located in the back side of the park that continues behind the northern wall of the castle area. The park also includes gardens, glasshouses and the so-called Panská školka or panšula (manor’s tree nursery) where the young plants for the park and the forestlands of the Kaunitz family line were planted.

In 2005, a few more trees were planted. The fragments of the linden avenues were replenished. Now they form the transition to the narrow part of the avenue in the lower part of the park. Also, the left rondelet with chestnut trees around the Chinese pavilion was newly planted.