Looking for Fresh and Free Fruit? Head to the Orchards: There Are 70 in Prague!

If you’re looking for fresh fruit, head to the orchards: they’re free, and Prague has the most in the world!

Most Praguers have no idea that there are a number of fruit orchards in the capital, where one can pick various fruits for free, from apples to pears and cherries to blackberries.

The forthcoming book Prague Fruit Orchards (Pražské ovocné sady), will introduce 15 publicly accessible orchards and readers will find out when the individual fruit ripens or what trips can be made in the area.

Pluck a few cherries or pears from the tree and eat them right away. For many of us, the fruit carries many memories, especially from our childhood when we used to go to our grandmothers in the countryside or to summer camps as children. We all probably had secret expeditions to neighbor’s gardens where cherries were blushing. But it would probably occur to few that free and completely legal expeditions for fruit can be undertaken in Prague today.

Nowadays, when the prices are going up, a little fresh fruit is vital. Just go to one of the 70 Prague orchards. Yes, Prague really has so many–the most in the world.

“The Prague City Council manages 70 orchards with a total area of 115 hectares. Even one or two orchards are added per year, either by getting one into the administration or by setting up new ones,” explains Jiří Rom from the Prague City Council.

These secret parts of the capital want to be introduced by a new book, Prague Fruit Orchards, which is planned to be published by the organization Na Ovoce. It has been mapping orchards all over the Czech Republic for 6 years and on their website, you can use the interactive map to find the nearest orchards in your area.

“We have selected 15 of the most beautiful Prague orchards and we have described them in detail in the book,” describes Lenka Linhartová from Na ovoce.

The book describes the history of orchards, what fruit grows here and when the harvest season is. “The orchards are ideal for family picnics or meeting friends. There is peace and shade, people can pick fruit and take it home. The book also includes excursion routes around the individual orchards, so you can spend the whole day in peace in them,” Linhartová continues.

Now they are choosing a book through a crowdfunding campaign, and there are also interesting rewards on offer, such as a musting course, fruit fermentation, tree planting or a pruning course. So far, they have managed to choose to publish the book and the campaign continues.

“If the selected amount rises to CZK 200,000, we will expand the book on the audio version of the guide, which will be available in the Na ovoce mapping application,” concludes Linhartová.

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more