Chroustovice: Baroque Garden, River Landscape and Monuments

The themes that shape Chroustovice range from a Baroque-designed garden landscape to ecclesiastical and stone monuments in the town. This lets you consider different priorities when planning your trip: the layout of the castle garden, the course of the Novohradka River, and the history of individual buildings and sculptures. Please note when planning: the castle is not normally open to the public. Check access information before visiting.

Castle Garden and River Landscape

The Chroustovice castle complex lies on both banks of the Novohradka River. In the formal garden, avenues of linden trees line the river’s monumental channel. The castle garden forms the centre of a Baroque-designed landscape and is part of a historic green space dating from the late Baroque period. Its design was influenced by André Le Nôtre and features pronounced illusionistic elements. The garden is therefore described not simply as a green space, but as the centrepiece of a designed landscape. The terms “designed” and “illusionistic” refer to the garden’s deliberate layout and effect.

A different view of the Novohradka can be found along the stretch of river that surrounds Chroustovice: here, the riverbed has a natural character, with meanders, sand and gravel banks, pools, and remnants of floodplain vegetation. The formal garden with its channel is thus contrasted with a river landscape of varied natural forms. Those interested in landscapes will find both designed garden spaces and a stretch of river described as natural as distinct features of Chroustovice.

Church and Historical Testimony

The present-day Church of St James the Greater was built in 1744, after the earlier church had been demolished. The church’s pewter baptismal font bears the date 1510. These two dates refer to different objects: 1510 to the baptismal font, and 1744 to the construction of the present-day church. This distinguishes a single historical object from the building history of the current church.

In the square, in the small park to the left of the church, stands a column with a statue of the Virgin Mary dating from 1804. At the lower end of the square, in front of the municipal office, stands an iron cross with Christ, erected in 1836. These two monuments are at different locations in the square as described; their dates give each a distinct historical context.

Historical sculptures can also be found along the roads. On the road to Luže stands a statue of the Holy Trinity, created by the local sculptor Dušánek in 1891 based on a model from the sculpture school in Hořice. On the road via Březovice to Chrudim, between four mature linden trees, stands a stone statue of St John of Nepomuk dating from 1729. The description thus identifies both the roads on which the statues stand and a distinctive feature of the Nepomuk statue’s location.

A signpost in Chroustovice is made of local sandstone with an inset ceramic element. It stands on the left at the turnoff to Městec and Uhersko, on the edge of a large lawn belonging to the local school. Its material and location make it a different type of historical testimony from the figurative statues and the iron cross. Together, these details show that the character of the town can be understood not only through the castle garden, but also through individual objects and their specific locations.

Discover more destinations: Prachovice, Sobětuchy, Chrast, Horní Bradlo, Trojovice, Miřetice U Nasavrk, Lipovec, Třibřichy

For the regional travel overview: Okres Chrudim.