University Garden. This garden was established in 1804–1805 by Vasily Nazarovich Karamzin, the founder of the Kharkov University.4 photos

The garden was laid out in an existing natural oak grove on the outskirts of the city. The upper terrace housed a landscape park, while the lower one contained a botanical garden. From its inception, the garden was known as the University Garden. In 1808, an astronomical observatory was built within it. In 1896, the oldest zoo in Ukraine and the third oldest in the Russian Empire—the Kharkov Zoo—was opened at the western end of the park. In the 1930s, the park underwent reconstruction work led by architect V. P. Shirshov, professor A. I. Kolesnikov, and dendrologist K. D. Kobezsky. New avenues were constructed, trees and shrubs were planted, and a fountain was added. After the monument to Taras Grigoryevich Shevchenko was unveiled in 1935, the garden was renamed in honor of the poet. #1solica_history. [club17590728|We would like to thank our friends from “Old Kharkov” for providing this material.]