Waldstein Garden: Prague's Baroque Secret Behind the Wall

Waldstein Garden is one of my favorite places in all of Prague. This stunning spot sits behind a set of high walls in Malá Strana, and most people walk right past it without knowing it's there. Step through one of the three unassuming doors and you're in a full Baroque garden.

Looking for a place with benches and fountains? Waldstein Garden is your answer.

Looking for a place with mythological statues? Again, they are here.

Looking for a place with peacocks wandering the lawns and huge koi enjoying a swim? Of course you are! And guess what, these guys are also here.

Wallenstein garden through bushes with fountain verical 600x900

You'll find beautiful scenes throughout the garden

Luckily no one has put up gates and started asking for money to enter. The garden is free.

Yes, you'll find a few fellow tourists here as well - but nothing like the crowds at nearby famous sites.

Also, if you're traveling to Prague with young children, don't miss Waldstein Garden. It makes for a great distraction with fun elements to discover. Here's a quick walk through the garden.

A Palace Built to Outshine the King

Albrecht von Wallenstein commissioned this garden between 1623 and 1630, and he wasn't thinking small. As one of the richest and most powerful noblemen in the empire, he wanted a palace that would rival Prague Castle itself, just down the hill from the king he served.

Actually you can get a great view of the garden from the south gardens on the castle grounds.

To make room for the palace, he tore down more than twenty houses along with several existing gardens. Then he brought in Italian architects to design an early Baroque complex unlike anything Prague had seen before.

But Wallenstein's ambition caught up with him. As one of the most powerful military commanders of the Thirty Years' War, his own officers assassinated him on suspicion of treason in 1634. Years later, in 1648, Swedish troops looted the garden's statues during the war's final chaos.

The bronze figures you see today are replicas. The originals still sit in Sweden. What's up with that?

A Note on the Name

You'll see this place called both Waldstein and Wallenstein, and both point to the same garden. Waldstein is the closer match to the Czech name, Valdštejnská zahrada. That's what Google Maps and the Czech Senate's use. Wallenstein is the more familiar spelling in English-language history books, largely thanks to Albrecht von Wallenstein himself, the general who built the place. He's almost always referred to as Wallenstein in English, even on pages that call the garden Waldstein.

What You'll Find Inside

Peacocks roam the Walstein Garden

The garden is large but easily explorable. You don't need to follow a particular route. But I've got a few highlights to look for...

At the western end of the garden stands the Waldstein Palace, now home to the Czech Senate. An active place of day-to-day politics. Look for the loggia with its painted ceiling (photo above), and grab a seat on one of the many benches. If you're visiting on an afternoon during summer or autumn, you might run into a free concert happening there that day.

Get up close to the tall gray wall that runs along one side of the garden. It's built to look like dripping stalactites, and hidden inside the stonework are faces and creatures that peer out at odd angles. Look closely and you'll start spotting them.

Next to the wall you'll find an aviary with owls perched high inside. They rarely come down to eye level, but worth checking out. There's a restroom (paid) is in this corner as well.

The statues scattered through the garden depict figures from Greek mythology. These were part of Wallenstein's effort to model the space on the great gardens of the era.

At the other end sits the Waldstein Riding School, which is part of the National Gallery. It offers rotating exhibitions with a wide range of temporary exhibitions. It's worth a look if you have time, but not a major art destination.

Near the Riding School, there's a large fish pond with a central fountain. The view of the castle is pretty darn cool from here. Enjoy!

Getting There

Waldstein Garden is in Malá Strana, just across the river from Old Town and close to Manes Bridge. The easiest entrance sits right behind the Malostranská metro station.

By metro: Take line A (green) to Malostranská. Ride the escalators to the top and turn left, then turn right as soon as you're outside. You'll see a gate, then a small door into the garden.

From Prague Castle: Walk into the courtyard of Waldstein Palace at Valdštejnské náměstí 17, the building that houses the Senate. Cross the courtyard toward the garden entrance, and on the way you'll pass an old well pump built into the wall that still works. Give it a try!

There's a second entrance about halfway down Letenská street, a smaller wooden door set into the long wall facing the tram line. It's a good option if you're already walking that direction and don't want to loop around to the metro side.

One of many dramatic statues in the garden

When to Visit

I'm sorry, but the garden is only open April 1 through October 31. This schedule is standard for most of Prague's gardens. With all the dirt paths and fountains to maintain, it's not really built for winter visits anyway. Entrance is free, and you're welcome to come and go as many times as you like in a day.

Just don't step on the grass. That's reserved for the peacocks.

As usual, early morning or evening is the best time to come. The visitor count is lower and the light is special, especially in the evening as it hits Prague Castle giving it that warm glow effect.

One more thing to keep in mind.

The garden can close for Senate events or for other unknown random reasons. I've shown up a few times to see the doors locked without notice.