The Arboretum Oleksandriya () is an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

located in the city of

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( ; , ) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated on the Ros (river), Ros River in the historical region of right-bank Ukraine. It is the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (which does not include the city of Kyiv) and serves as the ...

of the

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It holds the state arboretum of the

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...

. It is a monument of

landscape art Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coh ...

, founded in the late 18th century. It is one of the largest parks in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, second largest in Ukraine. The park combines plants, architectural structures, sculptures, the water surface of the Ros River and ponds.

Geography

The territory is a

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

terrace of the

Ros river The Ros () is a river in Ukraine, a right tributary of the Dnieper. The Ros finds its source in the village of Ordyntsi in Pohrebyshche Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .chernozem Chernozem ( ),; also called black soil, regur soil or black cotton soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compounds. Chernozem is very fertile soil and can ...

, durian-meadow and marshy soils. Gray forest soils are the most common. Although the humus horizon is thick (in all places reaches 10–5 cm), it contains only 1.2–2.8% humus, with an insufficient number of mobile forms of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Climate

The climate is characterized by moderate continentality. According to the data of the Belotserkovsky meteorological station, the average long-term annual air temperature is 6.9 °C. The average rainfall is 498 mm, about 80% of which falls in the form of rain. The minimum temperature is -32.4 °C in January, the maximum is +38 °C in June. Ground temperature 0 °C and below is observed to a depth of 40 cm, from December to March. The number of cloudy days in the year is 146, while 46 days are sunny. Snow cover continues for 80 days. Late spring frosts occasionally occur. (In 1999, May 5–7 on the surface of the soil - 7.9 °C, in 2000 2–4 May - 2.5 °C). The area is characterized by unstable moisture, dry years are common. The average duration of the growing season is 170–180 days.

History

In 1774, the Polish King Augustus Stanislaw Poniatowski received the wealthiest in Ukraine, Belotserkovsky. On December 13, 1774, the Crown Prince Hetman of Poland

Franciszek Ksawery Branicki Franciszek Ksawery Branicki (1730–1819) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, French count, diplomat, politician, military commander, and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation. Many consider him to have been a traitor who participated wit ...

received land from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ksawery Branicki received these lands as a reward for the suppression of Cretaceous-Cossack uprisings at

Koliivshchyna The Koliivshchyna (; ) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants with the treatment of Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfdom, as well as b ...

. His new possessions included the cities of

and

Skvyra Skvyra (, ) is a city in Bila Tserkva Raion, Kyiv Oblast (region) of central Ukraine. Skvyra has an area of . It hosts the administration of Skvyra urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is approximately Name In additio ...

, including 134 villages with a population of over 40 thousand people. Since then, the

has become the private property of the Branicki Counts. Branicki wintered at the court of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In summer they moved to their estates in Ukraine, most often to White Church. In 1784, Branitskaya received this estate as a gift from her husband and began to put it in order. The name of the park was given in his honor - "Alexandria", today Oleksandriya. French architect Muffo was the author of the master plan for the park. Later, architects and gardeners Botani, Stange, Bartetsky, Witt, Jens worked there. They implemented the plan and laid the foundation of park compositions. The park's alleys were decorated with bronze and marble sculptures, vases. In the middle of the nineteenth century the park "Alexandria" was visited by

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin (, ; 14 July 1743 – 20 July 1816) was one of the most highly esteemed Russian poets before Alexander Pushkin, as well as a statesman. Although his works are traditionally considered literary classicis ...

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

Decembrists The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

, members of the Southern Society (Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Muravyov-Apostol,

Pavel Pestel Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Pestel (; – ) was a Russian revolutionary and ideologue of the Decembrists. Early life Pavel Pestel was born in Moscow on . He came from a Lutheran family of Saxon descent that had settled in Russia during the r ...

) and other famous Polish poets and artists. The park was frequented by members of the royal family. The so-called Tsarist Garden, where larch and seven American limes grew, was planted by emperors Alexander Pavlovich, Nikolai Pavlovich and Princess Alexandra Feodorovna.

Gallery

File:Державний дендрологічний парк «Олександрія» НАН України 5.jpg, Echo Colonnade File:21. Парк "Олександрія" та паркові споруди (Біла Церква).JPG, The monument to

Alexandra Branitskaya Countess Alexandra Branitskaya ( von Engelhardt, , 'Braɲit͡ska'' 1754 – 15 September 1838), also known as ''Sanecka'' and Countess ''Branicka'', was a leading Russian courtier. She was the niece and confidante of Grigory Potemkin, and C ...

File:"Золотий" Китайський місток.jpg, Chinese Bridge File:Big Glade (Alexandria Dendropark).jpg, Big Glade File:Архітектурних споруд парку є «Руїни»- 2.jpg, Ruins

References

External links

* (In Ukrainian) {{Chemical and Biological Institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Bila Tserkva Arboreta in Ukraine NASU department of general biology National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Tourist attractions in Bila Tserkva Protected areas of Ukraine Geography of Kyiv Oblast Parks in Ukraine Branicki (Korczak) family