Project NCGC

The National Centre of Garden Culture in Kroměříž

The subject of the NCGC Project is to create a multidisciplinary centre with focus on the creation of special methodologies for the restoration and subsequent maintenance of historic gardens and parks in the Czech Republic, furthermore on identification, processing and subsequent practical verification, documentation, exhibitory, publishing, instructional and educational activity relating to the subject of garden culture.

Neither within the scope of the Czech Republic nor minimally in the central Europe is there presently a similarly conceived centre that includes all the above-mentioned activities. By concentrating them in one place, a visitor gets the entire and comprehensive information to picture the extent of the garden culture subject.

At the very beginning of planning the Kroměříž project there were two state contributory organizations of the Czech Ministry of Culture (NHI – The National Heritage Institute and OAM – The Olomouc Art Museum). Their main status given function is to take care of, protect, popularise and explore historic cultural heritage. Accordingly, the term National Centre of Garden Culture can be used to name not only the project, but also the subject of the cooperation of both the organizations (partners) and other cooperating subjects that will operate in the Kroměříž chateau complex. NCGC comprises sets of activities divided into four areas – methodical, educational, scholarly and exemplary restoration of the Flower and Chateau Gardens. 

  1. Methodical activities – quite logically following the basic function of the National Heritage Institute, which is the creation of various methodologies on the theme of garden culture heritage restoration. It will be the peak outcome of all the activities and will cover and impact all the Czech Republic – minimally all the objects administered by the NHI, but the carrierhopes for others, whether public (public authorities) or private investors. The creation of technical methodologies will be participated partly by local site employees, partly by ones from other regions and other specialized institutions, universities and scientific institutes. Methodical procedures will be examined in the local chateau gardens. That way we guarantee further gradual or seasonal restoration of local gardens as a whole.  

  1. Educational activities – focused on both practical training of employees who work in the sphere of historic gardens and parks – they require unique craft procedures – and also incorporating a completely new topic in the area of presentation and mediation of monuments and art in so called educational activity for general public – including guided garden tours, classes for age groups ranking from pre-school children to seniors. Such activities will take place not only in the gardens but also in the chateau during the guided tours or in educational programmes specifically made for particular exhibition projects etc.  

  1. Scholarly activities – prepared and provided by the partner Olomouc Art Museum. They will above all include a presentation of local rich art-historic resources – not only garden culture oriented but also art genres in general oriented; further, the possibility of studying local collections as well as finishing a technical library specializing in this topic, holding exhibitions, creating an exposition on the Kroměříž historic gardens, issuing publications that map garden culture phenomenon, and co-holding seminars and conferences.  

  1. A fundamental result of the whole project will be undoubtedly a methodical restoration of selected parts of the Flower and Chateau Gardens.  

The NCGC Project is complemented by so called coherent investments that involve activities from the area of civil infrastructure development or tourism development and they are dealt with within the frame of Regional Operational Program (ROP). These projects originate in close cooperation between the National Heritage Institute and the town of Kroměříž, their carrier.