The story of the unique garden under the Nuselský Bridge began a hundred years ago

Prague - In the valley under the Nusle Bridge in Prague lies an extraordinary and still relatively unknown Art Garden, which originated a hundred years ago around a thriving sculpture workshop. On the narrow plot along the railway track, trees, bushes, lawns, and flowerbeds complement dozens of artworks - sculptures, busts, and reliefs, entrance portals, columns, fountains, and gazebos with seating. The remarkable and poignant history of this place is recalled by a newly opened exhibition in the garden's gallery, which traces the art of sculptors and plasterers from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The site is open to the public until the end of October, every Wednesday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Vojtěch Haluza, the owner of the Art Garden, who is behind its modern restoration, told ČTK.

Schools or other organized groups can arrange guided tours. Access to the garden is from Křesomyslova Street, near the tram stop Svatoplukova.

The story of the garden began in 1924 when the studio of the First Republic sculptor Karel Novák operated on this site. Here, not only his works were created, but also sculptures by other prominent artists of the time, mainly models for large figurative designs. Novák's Nusle workshop contributed to the allegorical figure of the Vltava River and its four tributaries at the weir by Children's Island in Smíchov, as well as to the memorial "Prague to its Victorious Sons" at Pod Emauzy Square. Models and components were also made for the Huss monument in Old Town Square and the Žižka statue on Vítkov.

After the nationalization of the sculptural factory in the early 1950s, the premises were used by Krátký film Praha. A team of film artists around Břetislav Pojar created legendary fairy tales in the area, such as "Sir, Come and Play," "Tomcat Mikeš," "Pat and Mat," "Dášenka," and "About the Animals of Mr. Krbec."

Meanwhile, the garden fell into disrepair; its decline was hastened by the construction of the Nusle Bridge at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, during which the area served as a base for construction companies. Most of the artworks were destroyed during the construction, buried in rubble, or ended up in the concrete foundations of the bridge. In the early 1990s, the devastated area was returned in restitution to the descendants of the original owner, who sold it to builder Vojtěch Haluza. He established the headquarters of his construction company there, and with several collaborators, gradually began to restore the dilapidated lands and buildings, returning the original genius loci to the garden in the Nusle Valley.

The area required the removal of piles of debris, restoration or recreation of discovered works from Novák's studio according to photographs, and the reconstruction of paths, stairs, retaining walls, minor architecture, and the entrance garden cottage based on period images, as well as landscaping the space. In the middle of the big city, people can thus find a unique open-air lapidarium. Haluza created a space where, according to him, the past meets the present. Thus, alongside the works of First Republic artists, the garden also features installations by contemporary creators and works by students of the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Sculpture and Stone Masonry in Hořice in the Jičín region.