History

The Botanical Gardens of Flora Olomouc Exhibition Grounds were established in the area of historic city parks on September 30th, 1980.

The oldest of these parks, Smetana Gardens, was founded around 1820 on land in front of the city walls. In 1866, following the Prussian-Austrian War, the park was redesigned by architect Max Machanek, who planted a 710 meter-long lane with chestnut and linden trees.

The parks obtained their current appearance at the turn of the 20th century. Between 1927 and 1930 the palm conservatory was built, and in 1935 the final design of Smetana Gardens was implemented. Another influence on the establishment of the Botanical Gardens was the tradition of horticulture exhibitions which began in 1958 and continue to the present day (1998 was the 40th anniversary of these horticulture exhibitions, and 1999 was the 20th anniversary of these shows under their current name of FLORA OLOMOUC). The growth of these exhibitions was the impetus for new adjustments to the parks, the expansion of the exhibition grounds, the construction of pavilions, and the reconstruction and expansion of the collection conservatories. In 1967 the Crown Fort and Bezruč Gardens were joined, creating a new park in which a modern rose garden, an alpine garden, and international gardens were planted (1972-1981).

As such, the expansive area of the parks (47 hectares) was enriched by the display of a great number of rare plant species. The conservatory collections were significantly expanded to include a wide variety of orchids, a unique collection of cacti, succulents, bromeliads, liana, and tropical and subtropical commercial plants. Exotic birds and a captivating display of freshwater fish aquariums were added to the greenhouses.

The intention of the botanical gardens, which encompass both enclosed and publicly accessible parks, conservatories, and displays of plants and garden architecture, was to attract visitors not only to horticultural exhibitions, but to the entire facility as a whole. The present appearance of the botanical gardens is a reflection of the use of the area for years as horticultural exhibition grounds.