Let me lead you through the streets of Moscow

by Anni Pelmeni

The Botanic Garden of Moscow State University is once of the most special and enjoyable places in Moscow. It is a quite place in megapolis jungles. It is difficult to discover if you just follow the maps, because it is surrounded by the apartments buildings and the entry to the garden is through the building.

The garden was founded by Peter the Great in 1706 as an apothecial garden to grow plants used in medicine. According to the legend, Peter the Great had personally planted a silver fir, a spruce and a larch. The later is still to be seen in the garden. Till the fire of 1812 this garden had expanded into a full-scale botanic garden. Unfortunately the fire had destroyed most of greenhouses and information materials. It took another 100 years to recover all the losses, but then another disaster – the energy crises of 1919-1920 (it was the time of civil war with great shortages of food and fuel) the garden did not have sources to provide enough heating and most of collection in the greenhouses just had frozen.

In 1930s the city administration planned to reconstruct the Botanic Garden and the vicinity within the Great Plan of Moscow Reconstruction. But because of the WWII it never happened. Till the mid of 20th century this garden was the only botanic establishment of Moscow State University until in 1945 a new huge academic botanic garden in Ostankino was founded. Nowadays the Botanic Garden in Aptekarsky pereulok is an unique little hideout that even people of Moscow may not know of. It is usually crowd-free even on weekends. If you have time – visit it. Entry Free. Metro – Prospekt Mira on Koltsevaya line.

Stumbe it!