Gabriela and Ivo Studenští, along with a group of local activists, are working to restore the devastated Piarist garden in the area of the monastery in Lipník nad Bečvou, in the Přerov region. The park, whose history dates back to 1638 when its foundations were laid, has enormous potential.
The Studenští couple wishes to create a community garden that would be useful for the residents of the city and its visitors. They plan to partially return it to the form it served for novices and monks in the Piarist college. Gabriela Studenští, a trained landscape architect, says, “It would be nice to restore part of the garden to the form of rectangular beds that intersected with paths and sidewalks in the past.”
Her husband, a trained IT specialist, is trying to revive the area of the monastery, where the founder of genetics, Moravian naturalist Gregor Johann Mendel, began his schooling. The garden, which covers more than two hectares, is currently desolate and closed to the public. However, the Studenští couple does not give up and hope that, similarly to the restoration of the garden at Kroměříž Castle, they will be able to restore the Piarist garden in Lipník nad Bečvou.
The garden has the potential to be a beautiful community space, complete with an orchard and areas for outdoor cultural events. The friends trying to restore the garden named their association Hrášek (Pea) after Mendel’s experiments with peas, through which he deduced the laws of heredity.
Despite the challenges, the Studenští couple and their fellow activists remain optimistic. The garden calls for beautification, and is determined to make it happen.