Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(5):516-520

Historical development, architects, and head gardeners of the Libochovice Castle Gardens in the 19th century

Jaromír Tlustý

The history of the castle gardens of the Libochovice State Castle can be tracked from 1685 to the present. The 19th century had a smaller impact on the shape and scope of the gardens.
The first head gardener of the 19th century was František Damaska (1759-1840). In 1808 he prepared plans to transform the park based on the fashionable trends of the time. These plans, however, did not come to pass. In 1821, the castle proprietor, Prince Josef Dietrichsteinen (1767-1854) transferred him to another location in his estate.
The new gardener Čeněk Seigerschmidt (1783-1830) was commissioned in 1821 by Prince Dietrichstein to convert the castle gardens into an English park based on the design of architect Johann Philip Joendl (1782-1870). The same architect presented Prince Dietrichstein with several plans for the construction of a castle greenhouse. The prince, however, was not satisfied, rebuking the architect for the structure's sizeable budget. J. P. Joendl drew up the plans again, suggesting a smaller greenhouse. The greenhouse was built under this plan in 1833, under the new head gardener, Karel Binder (1788-?). The greenhouse was built by the master mason Josef Kruchina (1776-1844) with whose daughter the Č. Seigerschmidt married in 1853. Another of the mason family of Kruchina, the gardener's brother-in-law Tobiáš (1812-1887), repaired in 1853 and built in 1857, according to his own plans, castle greenhouses. During the construction of the new greenhouses, building components brought from the discontinued Salmov Gardens in Prague were used. Plants used from 1853 to 1858 to expand the castle gardens came from the same garden. Extensive changes and expansion of the garden eastwards were designed and supervised by garden director under Count Eduard Clam-Gallas (1805-1891), Josef Blecha (1816-1895).
Expansion of the castle park to the north of the castle took place in 1864. The castle owner, Countess Theresa of Herberstein (1822-1895) bought the land from the city, and head gardener Antonín Stelz modified it into a park.
Other modifications to the castle garden took place in 1874. Head gardener Václav Joseph (1847-?), according to a design and under the supervision of architect Quido Julio Joendl (1828-?) created new paths and vistas.
Gardener V. Joseph was quite adept at growing exotic plants. This was shown by his cultivation of the banana tree Musa ensete that bloomed in 1881. It was the fourth flowering plant of its kind in Europe.
The banana tree was grown in the still extant greenhouse, its oldest plans coming from 1882. At the time, air heating was installed into the existing greenhouse from L. H. Hauber from Munich. This was replaced by a water heater shortly thereafter in 1890.
At the end of the 19th century, the owner of the chateau Libochovice, Jan Josef Count of Herberstein (1854-1944), expanded the collections of plants in the greenhouse. These were plants, especially palm trees, brought in from his travels in North Africa and Asia between 1879 and 1929.
The gardener Martin Hrbek (1846-1917) was the one responsible for these imported plants. The last head gardener of the 19th century, whose greatest achievement was establishing the new park west of the castle building as well as two flower parterres in the eastern part of the park. Both were built in 1885 on the wishes of the wife of Count John Joseph, Marie Anne (1876-1944).
The pillar of each of these gardens were the gardeners. Although the professional approach of each of them was different, they each shared a single particular fate. Gardener Jan Chmelař (1849-1933) was closely linked to the Libochovice castle garden in the third quarter of the 19th century. Between 1865 and 1868, he trained here as a gardener, spending the next two years working as a gardener for the castle in Roudnice nad Labem. In 1870, he returned to the Libochovice castle gardens for several months. From 1871, he was active at several aristocratic gardens (Prague - Košíře, Jezeří, Slané), spending the last twelve years of his life caring for the garden of Ing. Gustav Bihl, the former director of MUS AG in Most.

Keywords: 19th century; architect; gardener; castle garden, greenhouse; exotic plants

Published: December 1, 2016  Show citation