Rangherka (Heroldovy sady)

Rangherka – Vršovice Chateau

The building named the Vršovice Chateau forms a dominant of the premises. Several hundred years ago, there was a Štočkovská Vineyard here, adjoining the vineyard settlement named Špendlikářka. Around 1776, an Italian tradesman from Lombardy named Josef Rangheri settled in Prague, and he had a hobby in silk business. He had merit in the restoration of the fast disappearing silk trade in Prague, namely by re-planting the mulberry trees in the rampart moats, and by planting the mulberry trees in other localities as well, in the territory of today’s Vinohrady. He established a mulberry tree nursery behind the Koňská Gate, and he found more people interested in the silk trade. When he died, his son Jindřich Rangheri continued in his legacy, and he purchased a large land plot above the St. Nicholas Church in Vršovice, together with the Špendlikářka estate. After 1842, he built a spectacular two-storied building with two low prismatic towers on the Western side, where he established halls for growing the silkworm. He built another, smaller building in the neighbourhood, and established a mulberry park around it. The objects were named after the owner – Rangherka. After his death, the heirs sold the objects, the subsequent owners kept changing until 1882, when everything was purchased by the Vršovice municipality, which cut down the mulberry park and established Herold’s Park, named after an important mayor of Vršovice, JUDr. Josef Herold. In the years 1899 – 1900, the buildings of Rangherka were rebuilt in a unique new-Renaissance style. The towers of the Western wing were removed, the front buildings were unified constructionally and an ornamental hexagonal tower with a pavilion was built in the middle of the main front. After this reconstruction, the object started to look like a chateau. A park was established on a slope in front of the main front, where there is a staircase leading up to the chateau. Over time, there was a school in the building, different authorities, and namely the Vršovice Town Hall, which had its seat here until 1974.

The building was reconstructed 2010 – 2013.

Source: https://www.prague.eu/en/object/places/2456/rangherka-heroldovy-sady