The Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg is one of the most popular places in the city, its landmark and pride. Currently, it is called the Botanical Garden of the V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and earlier it was given the name of the Imperial Botanical Garden.
This corner of nature simply attracts lovers of greenery and plants. Its visitors are residents and guests of the city. The Botanical Garden is a unique creation that combines the careful care and work of people, flowering and the beauty of nature.
History
The Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg was founded by decree of Peter I in 1713 as the Pharmaceutical Garden, which was supposed to grow medicinal herbs and plants used in medicine. It was located on the Ravenisland, which was later renamed Aptekarsky. The territory gradually increased, now the modern garden occupies more than 16 hectares. Since its inception, the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg has been closely cooperating with various medical, scientific and educational organizations and enterprises of the country, it holds lectures for university students, creates expositions and excursions for preschool children.
At the beginning of the 19th century, it was in a deplorable state, there were few plants - only about 1500 species, there were only two departments - botanical and medical. In 1823, it was decided to rename the garden into Imperial, so work began on its reorganization and improvement. In addition, new plants were ordered from abroad, buildings were rebuilt and reconstructed, and the territory was ennobled.
A little later, a museum and a library appeared. The Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg was used not only for medical treatment, but also for scientific activities. At the end of the 19th century, its employees made expeditions around the country for plant samples, scientific goals began to be of paramount importance.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg belonged to the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the established Botanical Institute was engaged in its development and arrangement. Moreover, scientific activity has gained a wide scope. USSR scientists were engaged in the development of suitable conditions for different plants, problems of growth and acclimatization. During the Great Patriotic War the gardenbombed and suffered heavy losses. Almost the entire collection of flora was lost, especially rare tropical species of plants, palm trees, greenhouse flowers and much more. In wartime, the boiler house was damaged, and all heat-loving plants died irretrievably. Only a few species were saved, which were saved by employees: rare specimens were taken to apartments or left in a small greenhouse, which was heated with stoves. In the post-war period, the garden was gradually restored. Of course, it took a lot of time and cost the incredible efforts of all the staff and just caring people.
Departments of the Botanical Garden
For a more successful operation, all activities carried out in the Botanical Garden are divided into different departments and areas of activity. The Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg is not only a park, but also several greenhouses in which plants of a tropical and subtropical climate are presented, an arboretum is the pride of the garden, numbering several thousand species of trees, a herbarium collection consisting of hundreds of herbariums created by botanists over the years.
The garden has its own museum displaying thousands of rare and fossil plants. The museum is replenished with exhibits so far, many biologists of different years, prominent figures of science and botany have contributed to it. The number of exhibits exceeds 80 thousand! The library contains more than 600 works. The seminary of the Botanical Garden was created to compile a catalog of seeds and extract from abroadplants and flowers. The biological laboratory is engaged in the study of the properties of various plants. Since 1901, the Botanical Garden began to publish its own magazine. Its name was changed several times, but in 1933 it was decided to merge it with the Botanical Journal of the USSR. It was later definitively named The Botanical Journal.
Visit Rules
Various exhibitions and events take place all year round, but are held in different departments depending on the season. You can visit the Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg throughout the year, and in any season it will leave an amazing impression. In summer, the flowering of thousands of plants, rare and exotic, is breathtaking. In autumn, the park dazzles with the beauty of colorful leaves, while magnificent greenhouses open in winter.
Educational excursions offer a guided walk through the park and greenhouses, unaccompanied visits can only be made to the park between May and October.
Tours
Excursion groups are formed as 15 people accumulate - this is convenient for guests. Tours can be booked in advance. The most popular of them are "Plants of the tropical regions of the Earth", "Plants of the subtropical regions of the Earth", "Walk in the arboretum", in the Palm greenhouse and in the Water greenhouse. Botanical Garden (St. Petersburg) - photos of visitors to the excursion are simply unforgettable and amaze with their beauty and magnificence of plants and flowers.
Opening hours and cost
Botanical Garden (St. Petersburg) is open all days of the week, from 11 to16 hours. The only exception is Monday. The Botanical Garden (St. Petersburg) is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to inspect open ground plants. The price of tickets depends on the purpose of the visit: just walking through the park costs 40 rubles for an adult ticket, entrance to the greenhouses - 220 rubles. Photo and video shooting are also paid, from 90 rubles and more.
Replenishment of collections and expeditions
From the beginning of its foundation, the Botanical Garden replenished its collections only with the help of foreign countries - seeds and seedlings were purchased in England, Germany, Holland. Since 1830, special expeditions of scientists have been undertaken in the Transcaucasus, the regions of the Caspian Sea, Baku, Kamchatka to replenish the collections of the garden and to promote scientific activity. Plants from St. Helena, Rio de Janeiro, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Brazil were brought from foreign trips.
The Botanical Garden took an active part in equipping not only its own expeditions, but also expeditions of other societies and organizations. In addition, plants were brought here by many travelers voluntarily - from the Tien Shan ridge, Issyk-Kul, from the Ussuri region.
One of the newly acquired plants that the Botanical Garden is proud of is sakura, brought from Japan. We plan to create a unique Sakura Alley in the near future.
