Prochaska Forest Park
Procházka Forest Park is located in the northeastern part of the cadastral area of the City of Mikulov in close proximity to the former Janičův Vrch limestone quarry.
The history of Procházka Forest Park is linked with the history of the former hill known as Janičův Vrch which was almost completely excavated during the twentieth century. Janičův Vrch (previously with a peak of 315 m above sea level), known in the past as Janitschberg or Marienberg, was originally one of the peaks of the limestone cliffs of the Pavlov Hills connected across the valley of the Marian (Mušlov) Stream with Mikulov’s Holy Hill. Limestone quarrying began on Janičův Vrch, which was interesting from a botanical and geological perspective, at the end of the eighteenth century, culminating in extensive extraction in 1930 which led to the almost complete destruction of the hill in the 1970s.
The Beautification Society built a hiking trail to Janičův Vrch, with the part between the town and the hill being augmented in 1911 by the planting of an alley that was sponsored by Dr Karel Prochaska. In 1913, a park with numerous ornamental shrubs was established on areas of former pastures along this “Prochaska Alley”, followed in 1921 by the construction of a municipal swimming bath. This swimming bath, fed by the Marian Stream, consisted of two concrete pools one side of which was built into the solid rock of Janičův Vrch. The swimming bath was built by city architect Ing. R. Czujan. The area surrounding the two pools, one for swimmers and the other for non-swimmers, was planted with flowers.
This site also fell gradually into a state of disuse as a place for short-term recreation for the inhabitants of Mikulov and its surroundings from the 1930s onwards, when intensive limestone quarrying began on Janičův Vrch.
The last major revitalisation of Prochaska Forest Park was carried out by the City of Mikulov in 2011. Existing trees were tended or felled and new trees planted as part of this project. New areas of grass were also established and benches and litter bins installed on the park’s hiking trail. The total cost of the project was around 555,000 CZK.
The City of Mikulov is currently working on the further expansion of Prochaska Forest Park, and new features and interactive games have recently been installed in the forest park.
