Sofiyivsky Park,Ukraine:

Sofiyivsky Park is an arboretum 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.

Sofiyivka 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.

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