Cleveland's Czech Cultural Garden

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens came into being in the early 1900s on land that had been donated to the city for this purpose by John D. Rockerfeller. The original idea for the gardens, as articulated by founder Leo Weidenthal, was to create “links in a lovely garden chain, symbolizing all the cultures and honoring the dreamers and poets whose ideals have inspired humankind through the ages.”

The first garden (built in 1916) represented the British presence in Cleveland, but construction of the gardens took off in earnest in the 1930s, when expansion was supported by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program.


The Czech Cultural Garden at 880 East Blvd.

The Czech garden was founded in 1935, though it fell into some disarray and was subsequently rededicated in 1997. Of the 26 gardens, the Czech one currently houses the largest number of sculptures, mostly designed by Frank L. Jirouch – a Clevelander of Czech extraction. Those represented in the garden include Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Bedrich Smetana, Bozena Nemcova and Jan Amos Komensky.


Masaryk (front) and Smetana (back) by Frank L. Jirouch



On both sides of the garden are pillars, on which you can read this text in Czech and English. The English translation from the second pillar reads:

“Czech Cultural Garden – Bohemia Moravia Silesia – Homeland of teachers, statesmen, martyrs, musicians and artists, this garden is dedicated to our beloved Czech parents who by their teaching and by precept and example have established for us a high ideal of American citizenship. Dedicated 1935, rededicated 1997.”


Paul Burik at work in the Czech Cultural Garden, 2006

In more recent years, the upkeep of the Czech Cultural Garden has been taken care of by Paul Burik (who is now also head of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation). He told Recording Voices & Documenting Memories how he originally became involved:



The park also plays home to a Slovak Garden (founded in 1932) and a Rusin Garden (dating from 1939). The Cultural Gardens also boast an excellent website, which can be found here.