It is almost 250 years since the first edible chestnut tree was planted in Nasavrky near Chrudim. The pioneer, who brought the first seedlings of edible chestnuts (Castanea sativa) to Pardubice from the far away Italy, was Jan Adam Auersperg, the owner and manager of the Nasavrky estate. The Auersperg family belonged to an enlightened nobility interested in the science and culture of their time. They met important scientists and writers such as Johann Wolfgang Goethe, translated Czech authors into German and were among the initiators of the Moravian Museum in Brno. With the first six seedlings that Jan Adam Auersperg brought to Nasavrky, a small chestnut garden was initially created in the centre of the town, which grew in size over the centuries. The Italian chestnut trees also spread outside the garden and today chestnut trees from this original Italian lineage are found in other parts of Nasavrky as far as the Iron Mountains. Most of the original trees are no longer alive, but there are about 20 trees from the earliest times that still bear fruit, the oldest and largest of which is a protected chestnut tree called Kněžák, with a circumference of more than 530 cm. The chestnut park made Nasavrky famous for its edible chestnuts and they made their way to the town`s coat of arms. Every year at the time of the harvest, the so-called Chestnut Festival takes place, during which the fruit from the Chestnut Park is cooked in various ways and sold directly in the park or in nearby businesses. The park is open to the public and the Celtic and Homeland History Trail runs through it.
