Sofiyivsky Park
Encyclopedia
Sofiyivsky Park is a arboretum
(type of botanical garden
) and a scientific-researching institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The park is located in the northern part of the Uman
city, Cherkasy Oblast
(Central Ukraine), near the river Kamianka. Some areas of the park are reminiscent of an English garden
. Today the park is a popular recreational spot, annually visited by 500 000 visitors.
Soviyivka is a scenic landmark of world gardening design at the beginning of 19th century. The park accounts for over 2,000 types of trees and brush (local and exotic) among which are taxodium
(marsh cypress), Weymouth Pine
, tulip tree
, platanus
, ginkgo, and many others.
Since 1980 director of the park is the member-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences, doctor of biological sciences Ivan Kosenko. In 1985 small planet #2259 was named "Sofiyivka" after this park.
It was founded in 1796 by Count
Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a Polish noble
who rebuilt Uman after the Koliyivschyna
. The city of Uman at that time was part of the Russian Empire
. The park is named after his Greek wife Sofia (Zofia Potocka
) and was built in 1802, it was a gift of Statinslaw Potocki to his wife on her birthday.
The cost of the original park was estimated at roughly 15 million złoty, a fortune by contemporary standards. The main contractor was Ludwik Metzel, a Polish military engineer who imported many rare plants from all around Europe. He employed the local serfs as his main labor force. The land for the park was highly undeveloped with numerous ravines and divided by the Kamianka river. The main composition of the park is located by the very same river with series of artificial basins and ponds (Upper-8 ha, Lower-1.5 ha, and others), waterfalls (the highest one is 14m tall), locks
, subterranean river Akhenront (length-224m), fountains etc. The opening ceremony was also honoured by Stanisław Trembecki, who wrote a poem praising the park and its namesake. The park is decorated with a number of sculptures, mostly antique ones, and artificial cliffs, grottoes, and gazebos.
It is one of the world famous garden-park art creations. There are many scenic areas in the park including waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden. It is one of the most famous examples of late 18th or early 19th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.
The Sofiyivsky Park was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
on August 21, 2007, based on voting by experts and the internet community.
's poems Odyssey
and Iliad
.
On the glade up the Geneva lake, a small gazebo was built for guard soldier. The shape of the gazebo looked like a mushroom, that's why the area on hill on the right side from entrance is called Mushroom. The gazebo was renovated in 1994.
On the right side of main alley (between Main Entrance and Taypersk Rock), cypresses and pine trees are growing. These trees were planted in 1891. This area was called Small Switzerland before the beginning of World War II.
Taypersk Rock is located on the right side of main alley after Small Switzerland. This rock is named after South-Eastern wall of Capitol fortress of Ancient Rome and it has wooden gazebo on it. During the rule of Potockiy, this point was the end of the park.
Before the Flore Pavilion, on the left, you can see a spring - Silver Sources. This natural source of water is decorated in antique style and was constructed in 1974.
The main alley ends with Flora Pavilion. It is located on the square where several roads are taking beginning in different directions.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
(type of botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
) and a scientific-researching institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The park is located in the northern part of the Uman
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
city, Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Cherkasy).-Geography:...
(Central Ukraine), near the river Kamianka. Some areas of the park are reminiscent of an English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
. Today the park is a popular recreational spot, annually visited by 500 000 visitors.
Soviyivka is a scenic landmark of world gardening design at the beginning of 19th century. The park accounts for over 2,000 types of trees and brush (local and exotic) among which are taxodium
Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
(marsh cypress), Weymouth Pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
, tulip tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Liriodendron tulipifera, commonly known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood...
, platanus
Platanus
Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
, ginkgo, and many others.
Since 1980 director of the park is the member-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences, doctor of biological sciences Ivan Kosenko. In 1985 small planet #2259 was named "Sofiyivka" after this park.
History
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a Polish noble
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
who rebuilt Uman after the Koliyivschyna
Koliyivschyna
Koliyivshchyna 1768-1769 was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion against Poland, which was responsible for the murder of noblemen , Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests across the part of the country west of the Dnieper river...
. The city of Uman at that time was part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. The park is named after his Greek wife Sofia (Zofia Potocka
Zofia Potocka
Zofia Konstantinova Potocka, née Clavone was a Greek prostitute, slave, spy and eventually a Polish noble as the spouse of Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki...
) and was built in 1802, it was a gift of Statinslaw Potocki to his wife on her birthday.
The cost of the original park was estimated at roughly 15 million złoty, a fortune by contemporary standards. The main contractor was Ludwik Metzel, a Polish military engineer who imported many rare plants from all around Europe. He employed the local serfs as his main labor force. The land for the park was highly undeveloped with numerous ravines and divided by the Kamianka river. The main composition of the park is located by the very same river with series of artificial basins and ponds (Upper-8 ha, Lower-1.5 ha, and others), waterfalls (the highest one is 14m tall), locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
, subterranean river Akhenront (length-224m), fountains etc. The opening ceremony was also honoured by Stanisław Trembecki, who wrote a poem praising the park and its namesake. The park is decorated with a number of sculptures, mostly antique ones, and artificial cliffs, grottoes, and gazebos.
It is one of the world famous garden-park art creations. There are many scenic areas in the park including waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden. It is one of the most famous examples of late 18th or early 19th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.
The Sofiyivsky Park was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
Seven Wonders of Ukraine
The Seven Wonders of Ukraine are the seven historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, which were chosen in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine contest held in July, 2007...
on August 21, 2007, based on voting by experts and the internet community.
Park sights
By original idea of the architect, the park illustrates different parts of HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's poems Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
and Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
.
Southern Part
Park starts with Main entrance on Sadova Street. The central alley starts after main entrance. Main entrance towers, which were built in 1850-1852, are still standing there. Tourist service center, which is now called The House of Science Art is located close. This building has original architecture with observation area on the top. Besides museum, the building has hotel, restaurant and sauna. Long time the entrance of the park was decorated with Black Poplars (trees with triangle shape). From "Sofiyivka" park these trees became very popular all around Russian Empire. Before 1996, on the right side from entrance, small historical museum was located. It was built in 1957 and was used as laboratory. After 1980 it was modified to museum to train guides. In 1996 all exhibits were moved to administrative building. Now from the place of former museum you can see granitic cliffs and small Geneva lake which appeared here in 1930s.On the glade up the Geneva lake, a small gazebo was built for guard soldier. The shape of the gazebo looked like a mushroom, that's why the area on hill on the right side from entrance is called Mushroom. The gazebo was renovated in 1994.
On the right side of main alley (between Main Entrance and Taypersk Rock), cypresses and pine trees are growing. These trees were planted in 1891. This area was called Small Switzerland before the beginning of World War II.
Taypersk Rock is located on the right side of main alley after Small Switzerland. This rock is named after South-Eastern wall of Capitol fortress of Ancient Rome and it has wooden gazebo on it. During the rule of Potockiy, this point was the end of the park.
Before the Flore Pavilion, on the left, you can see a spring - Silver Sources. This natural source of water is decorated in antique style and was constructed in 1974.
The main alley ends with Flora Pavilion. It is located on the square where several roads are taking beginning in different directions.
External links
Zofiówka in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1895)- Map of Sofiyivsky park in Uman - very detailed 3D map of park Sofievka from www.mapofukraine.net
- Official Website
- History of Park
- Sofiyivsky Park - history, gallery
- Sofiyivsky Park - own photos
- Photos of Sofiyivsky Park in Uman