Do you know where to catch the true golden autumn, with its amazing glowing palette of all shades of red, orange and yellow? Where can you collect beautiful bouquets of fallen leaves and listen to the bewitching echo, where can you feel crystal trembling air and make wishes that always come true?… Definitely in Alexandria – the park of striking beauty spread out over the picturesque banks of the Ros’ River not far from Kiev. This place has a beautiful history, with only harmony and peace reigning over it…
Today Alexandria – the largest (over 200 hectares) dendrologic park in Ukraine – is one of the main attractions of Belaya Tserkov considered to be the city’s carte-de-visite. 200 years ago these lands were the Branitsky family`s county estate. These Polish magnates were very close to Catherine II of Russia. The great hetman Ksaveriy Branitsky and his wife Alexandra Vasilevna Branitskaya (nee Engelhardt) – the Empress’ favorite Lady of the Bedchamber and niece of the Highest Prince Potemkin – spent wintertime at the court in St. Petersburg and moved to their Ukrainian manors in spring to stay there for the summertime. This blessed Ukrainian land was chosen by the countess to become a fashionable so-called English landscape park, equal in its beauty to the Emperor’s gardens of Petrodvorets and Tsarskoe Selo. By the middle of the 19th century, with the energy, skills and efforts of the best masters of the time, the park, named Alexandria after its founder, became one of the most charming spots of the vast Russian Empire. Just imagine: over twenty kilometers of alleys and paths, 1,800 kinds of rare and exotic plants from all over the world, unique system of ponds, cascades and fountains, bronze statues, picturesque landscapes – the park had become a the genuine passion of its mistress.
You will definitely spend more than a day discovering all of the mysteries of this garden art masterpiece. Though a short walk is already enough to appreciate Alexandria’s charming beauty and become one of its numerous admirers – you will be looking forward to returning here again and again! It’s no doubt that here you will forget the mad era we live in – even if just for a while. You can enjoy strolling down the alleys, resting on the benches, breathing in crystal fresh air, listening to bird songs and waterfalls splashes and observing the sky that reflects on the smooth surface of ponds. Standing under the arch of the colonnade Echo, you can whisper your heart`s deepest secrets – each word murmured at one side of the colonnade is clearly heard at the other side of this fantastic construction. Inexpressible feelings! Make a wish holding the beard of a bronze statue of the Chinese Man near the Chinese bridge. The beard has been brilliantly polished by several generations of dreamers, which means that Alexandria really makes all wishes come true!
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