Aptekarsky Ogorod Garden
Aptekarsky Ogorod is the oldest botanical garden in Russia, founded in 1706 by Peter the Great. The alleys and greenhouses of a real oasis in the center of Moscow are visited by up to 7,000 people a day. Its Instagram has set a record for views and followers among all the country’s attractions and botanical gardens in the world. In “Pharmacy Garden” not only grow plants from all corners of the globe, but also organize informative excursions, master classes, concerts and theater performances. Here you can celebrate a birthday or organize a marriage ceremony, hold a photo shoot or just relax in silence.
Video: “Aptekarsky Ogorod”
Contents- History of “Aptekarsky Ogorod”
- Aptekarsky Ogorod and MSU
- Plant collections
- Open-air expositions
- Greenhouses of Aptekarsky Ogorod
- Excursion and educational programs
- Events at Aptekarsky Ogorod Events at Aptekarsky Ogorod
- Tickets and opening hours
- Rules of behavior in the garden
- How to get there
The original purpose of the botanical garden in Moscow was to grow medicinal plants, which explains its name. In the time of Peter the Great, the territory behind the Sukharev Tower, demolished before the Great Patriotic War, was the northern outskirts of the city – an ideal place where nothing would interfere with the development of plants.
“Aptekarsky Ogorodgorod” also had an educational value: according to Peter’s idea, here Muscovites could learn to recognize different types of trees. Some of them were planted personally by the emperor – Peter’s larch tree has survived to this day. The botanical long-livers include the white willow – the oldest tree in the center of the capital.
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Aptekarsky Ogorod and Moscow State University
Originally, the garden was under the jurisdiction of the Aptekarsky prikaz – the analog of the modern Ministry of Health. Then the authorities decided to transfer the Aptekarsky Ogorod to direct consumers of its products – the Moscow Hospital and the Medical and Surgical Academy. A hundred years after the opening of the garden, it turned out that the sprawling collection consists not only of medicinal herbs – it will be of interest to serious botanical scientists. In 1805, the Moscow University bought the garden from the medics and moved most of the collections from Mokhovaya, which was too close to the busy city center. In the fire of 1812 the renewed “Aptekarsky Ogorod” suffered very seriously, there were no funds for its restoration, so it was necessary to sell part of the land for building.
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Since 1950, Petrov’s brainchild has been a branch of the new botanical garden of Moscow State University, laid out on the Vorobyovy Gory, where the university’s biofaculty is located. In the 90’s “Aptekarsky Ogorodgorod” went through difficult times, but thanks to skillful management managed to turn into a modern scientific and cultural-educational center. This was achieved in two ways. First, the garden began to offer services not peculiar to the scientific institution earlier – concerts, theater performances, weddings. Secondly, instead of looking for money in general, the administration made a clear list of needs “Pharmacy Garden”, which indicated only specific things: audio guides, illumination of paths, replenishment of the collection of cacti. As a result, each potential benefactor found a direction according to his taste and financial capabilities.
Plant Collections
The structure of Aptekarskiy Goryod is fundamentally different from the organization of space in most scientific botanical gardens. The main thing for the staff is not just to present exotic plants to the public, but also to do it as effectively as possible. A full-time landscape designer works on the garden’s territory design. Thanks to his care and the help of sponsors in the “Pharmacy Garden” appeared a Japanese pond, a pine hill with an amazing aroma, a garden of medicinal herbs, as in the monasteries of Europe, elegant benches in the shade of lianas.
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Open-air expositions
About 2,000 species of trees and shrubs are planted in the Aptekarsky Ogorod arboretum. Rhododendrons bloom on the heather hill from May. In spring, the inflorescences of lilacs open – the garden has more than 80 varieties of this shrub, mostly domestic selection, recognized as the best in the world. The shady collection – more than 150 species that feel themselves perfectly without bright light – hides from the direct rays of the sun. The ancient pond, founded back in the XVIII century, has recently been reconstructed, it is inhabited by eagle ducks, which are not afraid of people at all. The garden staff ask not to confuse them with pigeons and not to feed them – the birds have their own diet. The same request applies to local cats, descendants of the family that lived here under Peter the Great. The reason, however, is different: once they are full, they will stop performing their professional duties – catching rodents.
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Aptekarsky Goryard greenhouses
Excursion and educational programs
Guided walks through the Aptekarsky Goryard can be introductory, in-depth, or popular science tours that include working in a lab with antique microscopes. An hour-long educational tour costs from 3000 rubles for a group of up to 15 people, two adults accompany children for free. For children and adults, gardeners and landscape designers hold master classes on botany, teach guests to work with dried flowers, turning them into decor for badges and postcards.
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Events at Aptekarsky Goryod
Chamber music concerts are regularly held in the laboratory of the XIX century, ensembles and artists of the S.A.D. Theater perform in the open air. Tickets are booked in advance on the garden’s website and bought at the box office. In early March, the Aptekarsky Goryard hosts the Rehearsal of Spring, when bulbs open. A little later, the festival of spring flowers begins. “Colors of autumn” come with bright chrysanthemums and vegetables grown in the beds of the “Pharmacy Gardener’s Garden”. In winter, from December through March, it’s time for orchids to bloom in the Palm Greenhouse.
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Tickets and opening hours
Entrance ticket, which gives the right to walk around the territory and greenhouses of the Aptekarsky Ogorod, costs 300 rubles, a discounted ticket costs 200 rubles. You can buy an annual pass for 4000 rubles and visit the botanical garden during any working hours – from 10 to 21 hours. The ticket office closes half an hour before the end of work “Aptekarsky Ogorod”. On weekends and Friday, if a concert or other event is planned, the garden closes at 20 hours. A ticket for a wedding for 5 hours for 50 people costs 30000 rubles. A child’s birthday party will last 2.5 hours and will cost 21000 rubles for 12 people with 2 adults. The program includes a botanical excursion of choice, a master class: drawing with paints on water or 3D pen – and a tea party.
.Rules of behavior in the garden
Photography and video using professional equipment is paid – 3000 rubles per hour, for commercial purposes – 6000 rubles. Amateur photography or videotaping in the “Aptekarsky Gardenery” is free, the main thing is not to leave the paths and do not touch the plants. Guests are asked not to make noise, do not bring pets, do not throw coins into water bodies. Scooters and bicycles should be left at the entrance, strollers are not allowed in the greenhouse.
.How to get there
The Botanical Garden is located at the metro station “Prospekt Mira”. It is possible to get to Aptekarsky Ogorod from three sides – through the main entrance from Prospect, through the southern entrance from Grokholsky Lane through the Plantarum flower store, or through the eastern entrance in Botanichesky Lane, where the underground parking lot is located.
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