Historical background

 

The National Dendrological Park "Sofiyivka" of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is an outstanding example of landscape style in garden art and landscape design. This style, which originated in Western Europe in the 18th century, was embodied on the territory of modern Ukraine due to the exchange of ideas and trends in landscape art between Central, Western and Eastern Europe using the cultural traditions of antiquity.

Influences of different styles 

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe, under the influence of the works of philosophers, poets and artists, preferences in the art of gardens also changed. Built on the principle of a naturalistic motif, “Sofiyivka” has both a landscape part, designed according to the rules of an English park, and a regular, representing the front entrance area during the initial periods of development of “Sofiyivka” (1796–1836): the Parterre Amphitheater with a summer palace. It was from the summer palace that the principal axis to the Lower Pond and the central part of the park was overlooking.

The Florence Charter

In the middle of the 19th century, which is considered the time of the decline of the philosophy of the European garden tradition, there was a period of development of “Sofiyivka”, when the park was subordinate to the Department of Military Settlements (1836–1858). This stage is characterized by the influence of Russian architecture of the Classicism period of the first half of the 19th century and eclectic tendencies containing elements of different architectural styles. The modern parts of the park were created in accordance with the requirements of the Florence Charter in order to preserve the historical part of the park.

Throughout its history, “Sofiyivka” has been affected by both social and natural disasters, but the historical core of the park has been preserved: its architectural and planning basis, megalithic structures and hydraulic system. Having absorbed the influences of different styles of the European classical tradition of park building, "Sofiyivka" united them in an inimitable ensemble, while retaining its internal dramaturgy - the embodiment of images and ideas of ancient mythology.