Odessa Botanical Garden
In Odessa, on an area of 16 hectares, there is a very old botanical garden, in which over 3,000 species of various plants grow. The garden's collection is constantly being updated thanks to researchers who develop new varieties and study plants for their theses.
The first botanical garden was founded in 1820 behind Kulikovo Pole Square under Governor-General Alexander Langeron, who also planted the seedling of the very first tree in the garden. In those days, the botanical garden hosted festive parties, played tennis, and rode horses. In 1865, the university was opened, and 2 years later, Professors Yanovich and Tsenkovsky insisted on building a greenhouse. In 1880, the garden was moved to the old cottage of the Richelieu Lyceum. Greenhouses consisting of 2 halls with a warm and cool climate were quickly erected there. Based on this, the planting procedure was made, but when L. A. Rishavi became the garden manager, he mixed all the plants.
The university administration did not want to develop the botanical garden, and it slowly began to overgrow. With the advent of Soviet power, they came to the conclusion that it was necessary to reorganize the university into 3 different universities in order to provide citizens with a good education. So the garden remained unattended, everything changed in 1923 when the garden was headed by Professor D. O. Svirenko, who revived the garden and secured state funding for the Odessa Botanical Garden. In 1926, under the leadership of Professor Lipsky V. I., the garden became a research institute at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. They were engaged in acclimatization of plants, studied how to get agar-agar.
The Second World War had a bad effect on the state of the Odessa Botanical Garden, there were practically no whole trees and shrubs left, for this reason it was rebuilt. After the war, all scientific work was directed to the landscaping of the city and the cultivation of trees, shrubs and flowers for it. In 1948, the botanical garden was given land on 48/50 French Boulevard. After that, the total occupied area was 16 hectares. There is an information plate for almost every plant variety in the garden, where you can find a lot of interesting information for yourself. Walking through the botanical garden of Odessa, you can plunge into the atmosphere of tropical forests, taiga, steppes, and breathe fresh air, which is so lacking in big cities.
