The Kaiserwald Imperial Forest was completed in 1888 to mark the 40th anniversary of Emperor FJI's reign.

In the 1870s, the then mayor of Brno, Christian d'Elvert, was at the origin of the idea to establish a forest park on the slope above the Svratka river valley. On the 20th of March 1878, it was possible to establish the Forestry and Planting Association in Brno, the purpose of which was "to plant and maintain suitable places for afforestation and planting in and around the municipality of Brno, to establish and maintain public gardens". Christian d'Elvert became the first chairman of the association and Ludvík Odstrčil became the secretary of the court. The forest park was founded in 1882 by Ludvík Odstrčil, a large landowner and notary of the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef I, in the immediate vicinity of the then settlement of Kamenný Mlýn in the south of the then cadastre of the village of Žabovřesky. Thanks to Odstrčil's cooperation with Žabovřeské and the Forestry and Forestry Association of Brno, a forest park with today's area of almost 34 ha was created over the years.
The project was prepared by city gardener Karel Jelínek and its implementation was undertaken by the Forestry and Forestry Association.
This unique park was created by planting several hundred thousand tree seedlings on the land of former municipal pastures.

The forest park was completed in 1888 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph I. In his honor, it was named Imperial Forest - Kaiserwald. In 1919, the forest park was renamed Wilson's Forest in memory of the American president.
The forest park is located on the slope of a rocky hill on the left bank of the Svratka river in the cadastral territories of Stránice, Pisarka and Žabovřesky.
At one time, on its edge, behind today's Bishop's Gymnasium, there was a stone pyramid with an engraved inscription commemorating Emperor Francis Joseph I on an artificially raised hill. The monument no longer exists.

The establishment of the forest park created an excursion site intended for the general public, with a nice view of the surrounding hills and the Svratka valley, which was still little built up at the time. The funds for the implementation were obtained from patrons and the emperor himself contributed to a considerable extent. As an expression of thanks to the emperor, the giant letters FJE (František Josef, Elizabeta) were created on the slope. This unusual inscription, easily visible from the opposite slopes of Palacký Hill, was created by planted conifers against a background of deciduous trees. Foreign Douglas firs, today one of the largest trees in the forest park, were sent by compatriots from as far away as Canada. According to eyewitnesses, the establishment of the forest park on rocky ground was connected with the necessity of importing soil, and in steep parts the soil was even carried on the back in litters.

Source: current photos of Karolína Adamcová

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http://www.wilsonuvles.cz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11&Itemid=6
http://www.krasnecesko.cz/lokality/35422-wilsonuv-les-brno-park.html