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its miniature formal garden is the
Zpívající fontána
(Singing Fountain), built shortly after
the summerhouse and named for the musical sound the drops of water used to make when
falling in the metal bowls below. From the garden terrace, you also have an unrivalled view
of the cathedral.
Chotkovy sady
Adjacent to the Belvedér is the
Chotkovy sady
, Prague's first public park, founded in 1833
by the ecologically minded city governor, Count Chotek. The atmosphere here is a lot more
relaxed than in the nearby Královská zahrada, and you can happily stretch out on the grass
and soak up the sunshine, or head for the south wall, which enjoys an unrivalled view of the
bridges and islands of the Vltava. At the centre of the park there's a bizarre, melodramat-
ic, grotto-like memorial to the Romantic poet
JuliusZeyer
(1841-1901), in which life-sized
characters from Zeyer's works, carved in white marble, emerge from the blackened rocks
amid much drapery.
Bílkova vila
Mieckiewiczova 1 • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 120Kč • 224 322 021,
ghmp.cz
Hidden behind its overgrown garden at Mieckiewiczova 1, the
Bílkova vila
honours one of
the most original of all Czech sculptors,
František Bílek
(1872-1941). Born in a part of
South Bohemia steeped in the Hussite tradition, Bílek lived a monkish life, spending years
inspiritual contemplation, reading theworksofHusandotherCzech reformers. TheBílkova
vila was built in 1911 to the artist's own design, intended as both a “cathedral of art” and
the family home. At first sight, it appears a strangely mute red-brick building, out of keeping
with the extravagant Symbolist style of Bílek's sculptures. It's meant to symbolize a corn-
field,withthefrontporchsupportedbygiantsheavesofcorn;onlyasculpturalgroup,depict-
ing the fleeing Comenius and his followers, in the garden, gives a clue as to what lies within.
Inside, the brickwork gives way to bare stone walls lined with Bílek's religious sculptures,
givingtheimpressionthatyou'vewalkedintoachapelratherthananartist'sstudio:“awork-
shopandtemple”,inBílek'sownwords.Inadditiontohissculpturalandreliefworkinwood
and stone, often wildly expressive and spiritually tortured, there are also ceramics, graphics
and a few mementoes of the sculptor's life. His work is little known outside his native coun-
try, but his contemporary admirers included Franz Kafka, Julius Zeyer and Otakar Březina,
whose poems and novels provided the inspiration for much of his art. The living quarters
have been restored and opened to the public, with much of the original wooden furniture, de-
signed and carved by Bílek himself, still in place. Check out the dressing table for his wife,
shaped like some giant church lectern, and the wardrobe decorated with a border of hearts, a
penis, a nose, an ear and an eye plus the sun, stars and moon.
