Description

The historical part of the “Sofiyivka” Park starts from the Main Entrance on Sadova Street. Two towers located at the entrance to the park were designed in the antique style and built in 1850-1852.

To the right of the Main Alley, the Tarpeian Rock was built, on which a wooden pergola is located. On the left on the Main Alley, the source “Silver Springs” was built in 1974.

The lower pond

The alley brings visitors to Flora Pavilion built in 1842-1845. Between the white columns in the Doric style, a panorama of the Lower Pond opens up. To the right of Flora Pavilion the Venetian bridge is situated. In the middle of the Lower Pond, there is the “Snake” fountain – a bronze sculpture of a snake wriggling on a stone. A column of water shoots out of its open mouth. On the slope of the western bank of the pond a natural oak forest called Dubinka is sited. In this part of the park the Chinese pergola was built, it was made entirely of wood. On the Upper Alley there is a statue of Hermes.

At the end of the Lower Alley is a statue of Euripides. At the foot of the man-made hill - the Terrace of Muses, there is the Hypocrene source: from a granite pedestal on which a statue of the bathing Venus is installed, spring water runs, filling a bronze half-cup, decorated with a decorative image of grass-snakes.

The Assembly Square

A metal bridge leads across the Lower Pond to the Assembly Square, from which visitors can see the Valley of Giants and the Great Waterfall. In the center of the square there is a pool - the Temple of Poseidon. There is a statue of Paris near the pool.

To the left of the Assembly Square, the Grotto of Tantalus (the Grotto of Fear and Doubts) is sited. It presents a huge granite block weighing more than 300 tons, which is held only on three fulcra. A statue of Cupid can be seen above the Grotto of Tantalus.

Granite steps go up from the Assembly Square. Immediately to the left the Grotto of Scylla (the Western Grotto) is situated. Further, on the right, there is a platform carved into the rock on the edge of a steep cliff – the Belvedere. The platform is decorated with a statue of Orpheus. The site adjacent to the Belvedere is called the Ithaca Island (the Caucasian Hill). There is a statue of Odysseus here.

To the east of the statue of Cupid, granite steps down to two grottoes. Polyphemus’ Grotto (the Nut Grotto) finalizes the composition of the Valley of Giants: it seems that only a small stone supports a huge granite block. Down to the left is the Loketek grotto - a massive natural rock, in which a bench has been carved and a round table has been installed.

The Tempe Valley

Further, the alley leads to the Tempe Valley. A granite obelisk, “The Broken Column” (the Column of Sorrow), was installed in the valley. The Kamianka river is divided here into three small waterfalls - "The Three Tears", personifying the mother's sadness for three deceased children. On the right, there is a bust of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.

The Elysian Fields

The next part of the park is called the Elysian Fields. At the entrance to the Elysian Fields there is a granite block of natural form, and next to it is a hewn tetrahedral granite column: they form the composition "Nature and Art". On the left, in a green meadow, a granite vase stands on a pedestal; on the right is a site of stones of various sizes, covered with moss, between which paths run without a certain direction - the Cretan labyrinth.

To the east of the Elysian Fields, the visitors can see a grotto carved into the natural rock - Calypso Grotto (Lion or Thunder Grotto). Further along the alley is the Grotto of Thetis (the Grotto of Venus), similar to the ancient temple, the inside of which is decorated with a sculpture of Medici Venus. To the right of the grotto of Thetis, a statue of Apollo of Florence (the Apollino) stands; to the left is a round wooden pavilion incrusted with oak bark called the Pheasant Cage.

The Upper Pond

In the north-eastern part of the park, there is the Upper Pond with an artificially created Anti-Circe Island (the Island of Love, Circe Island). The architectural dominant of the island is the Pink Pavilion in the style of the Renaissance. To pass the boats from the Upper Pond to the underground river Acheron and back, the Amsterdam Lock was constructed. The underground river Acheron, 223 m long, was built during the first period of the park's creation.

The English Park (V. V. Pashkevich Arboretum) is an arboretum, where a collection of trees and shrubs, valuable in decorative and forestry terms, is presented. Next to the English park to the west is the Parterre Amphitheater. In the upper part of the Parterre Amphitheater there are greenhouses and study rooms of the Uman National University of Horticulture. The area of the park in front of the greenhouses is designed in the regular formal style. In the lower part, there is the "Seven-Jet" Fountain.

The western part of the park was opened to visitors in 1996. Administrative-laboratory and ancillary buildings are situated there, a rosarium has been created. Visitors can get acquainted with rare plants and admire landscape compositions.

“Nova Sofiyivka” Fantasy Park

In 2019, “Nova Sofiyivka” Fantasy Park was opened in the valley of the Kamianka river to the south of the Main Entrance. The expositions allocated on its territory are: the Regular Garden, the Fairytale Garden, the Topiary Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Ukrainian Homestead, etc. Downstream of the Kamianka, there is the “DinoSofia” exposition - the largest dinosaur park in Ukraine both in terms of area (4 ha) and the number of exhibits (more than 80 showpieces).