Walks in the Prague parks (IX) – the atmospheric Olšany Cemetery area: 3 km

• Although not technically a park area, Olšany Cemetery, located in the Žižkov district, is one of the largest green areas near the centre of Prague. More importantly, it is one of the most interesting and atmospheric of Prague’s green spaces. It is well worth a short expedition.
• Founded in 1680, the cemetery was created initially to accommodate a huge number of plague victims, who needed to be buried quickly. Olšany Cemetery subsequently became the main burial ground for the city of Prague, after Emperor Josef II decreed that burials should only be made outside the city borders. More than 2 million burials are estimated to have been made in Olšany, mostly without marked graves from the plague outbreaks of the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Many famous and semi-famous Czechs from the 19th and 20th centuries are buried in Olšany, including the student Jan Palach, the first communist era president Klement Gottwald and a large number of writers, artists and performers (including the well-known artist and illustrator, Josef Lada). Short biographies of the more well-known figures are included in boards near the tombs (only in Czech).
• The cemetery also contains some remarkable Art Nouveau and neo-Gothic mausoleums. Even if the names on the biographies are not that familiar, it is a very atmospheric place to stroll around. It is a true necropolis in the classical sense of the word.
• There are several entrances to the Cemetery, but if travelling by metro, the fastest way in is to get to the Flora station and use the entrance in the southwest corner. Unless planning on visiting specific graves, there is no particularly recommended route, but the oldest part is on the northwest side. The newer sections, with the grandest tombstones and mausoleums are on the eastern and southern sides. The cemetery area is completely flat and can be managed easily with a stroller.
• If wanting to add a view over Prague to the Olšany visit, then it is worth stepping out of the cemetery area at the northwest entrance and walking up to the viewpoint in Parukářka park (map point 4). The short diversion also passes one of Prague’s nuclear bunkers – constructed in the 1950’s. The site (which includes a cold war exhibition) may be visited on a pre-booked tour. The park also has a good children’s playground area.
• It is not difficult to find refreshments in this area of town, but if looking for a nice small café close to the cemetery, consider a short diversion to Café tout va bien (map point 8) for some good coffee and cakes.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• From the flora metro station, walk eastwards along Vinohradská street for 150m to reach the entrance to the cemetery
• Once inside, walk northwards across the width of the cemetery to reach the oldest part and then then take a clockwise loop around the main cemetery area
• If wanting to visit Parukářka park, step out through the northwest entrance (next to the oldest section). To get to the viewpoint – reached after 500m – it is best to use a good street map (or the mapy.cz phone application). Return back to the same exit and continue the circular route around the cemetery.