Cibulka Park in Prague

The city of Prague has so many different attractions. It is one of my favorite cities in Europe, where I would love to live. The reason for this is the abundance of architectural delights, incredible parks and artifacts. And while everyone knows about some of them, many people have never even heard of others. Such is the case with Cybulka Park.

In 2017, we arrived in the Prague 5 neighborhood to go down into the underground Motol River, but on this day there was construction work going on and it was impossible to get into the “portal” without being seen. There was a park nearby that I had planned to go to, so we set off to explore it. As a result, we spent half a day here and found a lot of interesting things.

History of the park

The history of these places began in the 14th century. The Tsibulka estate (originally named in the plural, i.e. Tsibulki) was established here.

In the 16th century, the park and the estate became the property of the Cybulka family, who gave it its name. However, during the Thirty Years’ War, the manor was badly damaged and soon abandoned. In this deplorable state, it was acquired by university professor Johann Georg von Funke in 1681, who built a new garden and restored the square.

Between 1740 and 1748 the sites were again badly damaged along with the surrounding area.

However, already in 1817, Bishop Leopold Leonard Ruimund, who became Prince of Passau as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, bought the Cybulk. He radically rebuilt the complex. The mansion acquired the Empire style, and many buildings were enlarged. In the main courtyard a fountain was laid out, a number of interesting buildings and statues were built. All this, together with the most beautiful part of the garden (“Secret Garden”) became part of Cybulk.

In addition to the aforementioned, the complex included many other interesting architectural solutions. These include, among others: the Tuscan Column, Chinese statues, garden arbors, swimming pools and stone terraces. The surrounding grounds were complemented by English and woodland parks. Soon it all formed a unified whole.

However, Leopold Leonhart Thun died in 1826 and in the same year the manor burned down. The heirs did not show any interest in the place, so the remains quickly began to deteriorate.

In 1922, farmer Josef Hiros, the last private owner of Cibulka, sold it to the Prague municipality due to financial problems. The destruction of the unique complex continued, and many statues and fountains were stolen or damaged.

At this point, the area is back in private hands with a company that does not have the funds to renovate the buildings and therefore is negotiating and only trying to sell the building.

My impressions

Park

So, as I said, I had planned to go to the park at some point, but it was definitely not on my top list of places to visit in Prague. And for nothing. And when we couldn’t get into Motol, we went to the saving shade of the park. There is a lot of greenery, few people and it is definitely worth a visit!

Of course, it’s not as well-maintained as dozens of other delightful parks in Prague. And this brings its own inconveniences. For example, after rain, you can’t walk along many paths – everything turns into knee-deep mud. However, I just love such locations. There is something unusual and quiet about them. No crowds of tourists, just the sound of the wind, birdsong, and the rare locals, which consist of either young mothers with children and strollers, or runners in training.

The first thing that catches the eye are the remnants of former luxury. For example, statues, partly destroyed, partly overgrown with plants or covered with moss. Some of them can no longer be approached without encountering nettles. However, you can still imagine how beautiful it was a couple of centuries ago.

There are various animals underfoot, including field mice and grasshoppers. After the rain slugs came out en masse, which can be very photogenic. By the way, the Russian word “slug” seems to me too negative, causes nasty associations. So when I photograph them, I like to call them by the wonderful Ukrainian word “slimachok”, which reads as “slymachok”.

And then, paths and asphalted paths can easily take you to the farthest corners of the area. Along the way you will come across remnants of gardens and farmsteads. Many of them are in a state of disrepair and are fenced off or taken over by homeless people. They try to fight this, but it only leads to the fact that the attraction becomes inaccessible to ordinary tourists. Even the park pavilions are now covered with bars, although, judging by the photos, back in 2007 some of them were accessible to visitors, and there were benches made of logs inside (similar to those installed in the Truskavets resort park).

Walking further, you can see the most restored part of the park, near the statue of Diana. It’s not as luxurious as I would have liked. Ten years ago, the terrain here was a pitiful sight. But now they’ve restored a small pond and put in a stream. But I managed to find an illustration of how this place looked in 1820 (source –  czumalo.wordpress.com – Czech.).

This place is not so picturesque now. This is to talk about the fact that many sights are in a state of disrepair over time. I write about many such places and I remember how in Ukraine I was particularly indignant about it (for example – see the report from Popov’s castle in Vasilievka). But, as you can see, this kind of thing is possible in any country.

And the statue is great! I really like that Diana and her dog. I don’t want some vandals to destroy such beauty.

In 1891, the Smíchov – Gostivice railroad line was built through the park, which is still used by Prague trains. It didn’t do the park any favors either.

The road runs very close to this very spot, with the statue of Diana. There are small tunnels made of bricks under the embankment to divert rainwater and channel the Cibulka River, but the tunnels are very low, it should be noted. They are not in any comparison with the ones built by the Mennonites in the colony of Verkhnyaya Khortitsa (nowadays – the city of Zaporozhye) and preserved up to nowadays.

But now I know for sure I want to ride that Railroad Branch and enjoy the park from the other side.

There is a nice gazebo, where we had a snack, which have already become traditional for us in Prague sandwiches with cheese, tomatoes, salad and bread, and photographed a very beautiful butterfly (I love beautiful moths, immediately recalls the butterfly house in Vienna), resting on the road and were about to leave for the stop, as suddenly …

Observation tower

Oh, man. My irrepressible passion for all things tree roots had me climbing up some trail for a shot that I don’t think I ever took. Because I completely accidentally discovered a gorgeous tower that I didn’t even realize I had when I was preparing for the trip (and I always prepare for a trip very carefully and try to find all the unusual and interesting sights in the area).

It is the oldest observation tower in Prague. Its height is 13 meters and you can climb to the top by an external staircase consisting of 76 steps.

Access to the inside of the tower is gated. On the first floor is a room where tools for park maintenance are kept. The second, during the communist era, was the home of the local scout club.

The tower offers a pretty good view of Motol, and most importantly, just an incredible panorama of the park. So much greenery, it was as if I had returned to Georgia and was once again looking out from the glass observation deck in Setaplia.

Previously, at the bottom of the tower was a mechanical knight that made eerie noises to entertain visitors. Then another statue was installed at the foot of the tower.

The place is very cool and completely deserted. I can imagine how cool it is here in the fall when the leaves turn yellow.

Conclusions

This is a very beautiful park that is worth visiting, if only for the tower and statues. If you have time, you should definitely go here for a picnic. You can even go on a bicycle, which will be mega-cool!

Tourist information

The park is a public place. Admission here is free and not time limited. However, I strongly discourage walking here yourself after dark for your own safety. There is no lighting.

Nearby there is a golf club, Trabant car museum, amusement park, stores and cafes. There is a children’s playground in the park itself.

How to get there

Cibulka Park is located on the right bank of Prague, in the Motol district.

Getting there by public transportation is very easy:

By tram 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25, 94, 98 or 99 to the stop Poštovka.

Take the bus to the Poštovka stop of the same name or take route 123 to Naskové or U Lesíka.

By train or electric train to Praha-Stodůlky or Praha-Cibulka station.

All detailed information about transportation in Prague, fare and savings in a special article.

Coordinates for the navigator – 50.064018, 14.353071.

Onion Park on the map: