The Church and Monastery of Our Lady of the Snows in Prague

The Monastery Garden

The monastery garden is today an oasis of calm in the busy heart of the metropolis. The original mediaeval garden of the Carmelite monastery was re-designed towards the end of the 17th century. In the middle stands a picturesque baroque summerhouse from the early 18th century, in the cellar of which there used to be a pharmacy. Later it also served as a charnel house for the brothers. In the wall surrounding the garden are preserved three niches roofed over with conchas (miniature chapels); a fourth one in the western wall was later bricked up.

Today the garden belongs to the Prague city authorities and was re-laid out in 1989-1992 by the architect Kuča. As part of the new design for the garden, a bronze fountain in the form of a water nymph by Josef Klimeš was placed in it, and a smaller fountain with the figure of a child ("David") was situated by the children’s play area. In 1991-1993 a noteworthy wrought iron gate was installed at the entrance from the Alfa passageway. The work of Petr Císařovský, it has 24 figural wrought-iron reliefs on it depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis.