Not far from the Olympic village and from the river Mzymty is located the Southern Cultures Park in Adler (Sochi). This is a dendrological corner in a bustling city.
Short description
The landscape architect used a predominantly regular style, which was very popular in the late XIX century and early XX. The architectural center is not the house, which is typical of the regular style, but the depth of the park. The most important elements of the garden are paths and paths connected in a single network.
There are two almost straight roads in the Southern Cultures Park in Adler: from the main entrance and into the courtyard, which then merge into a central alley. Then the road leads to the stairs and to the lower part, from where it passes to the highway in the direction of the sea and the main stall, the main pond.
Paths and small paths form curtains, where vegetation is planted. Deciduous and coniferous trees grow in separate groups. Valuable tree species flaunt in open glades: Atlas cedar, sunny cypress and blue fir. In some parts of the garden there are only exotic plants - palm trees and bamboo.
The key place is still allotted to artificial ponds, where swans of white and black color live. There are islands and bridges on the pond in the eastern part. And on the ground floor near the second pond there are lawns that recreate Baroque drawings.
Adler’s Southern Cultures Park has a unique collection of plants that you can admire at any time of the year. Today, there are about 1.4 thousand species.
From the hill (15 meters), poured according to the design of Regel, a panorama of the whole territory opens. From here you can see lawns, ponds, and paths.
Founder and creator of the park
The park was founded in 1910. In those days, these lands belonged to General Drachevsky D.V. From the territories of the "Random" estate with a total area of 34 hectares, 11 hectares were allocated for the garden. To implement his project, the general invited the architect of landscape gardening art - Regel A. Although there is a version that he participated in the creation of the garden in absentia, and in Sochi the gardener R. Skryvanek was doing all the work
In the 20th year of the last century, the park was run by the state farm Random, and after 9 years the garden was given an existing name.
In the 30s, the park had a real flowering. Professor Artsybashev D. brings here decorative plants from the East. At some point, the park becomes the most unique and largest in the entire territory of the Soviet Union.
The last mass plantings were made in the 50s of the last century, it was then that the eucalyptus alley appeared.
Post-Soviet time
During this period, the Southern Cultures Park in Adler is completely desolate. The alleys are not looked after, and the whole composition loses its value. Exotic plants begin to age and die prematurely due to the proximity of groundwater.
Tornadoes in the 1980s and 2000s cause virtually irreparable damage to all plantings.
However, in 2008 the park was visited by about 10 thousand people. In the same year, reconstruction begins. About 200 large trees, 560 rose bushes, annual and perennial plants appear in the garden. Paths are cleared and benches are set up. All efforts cannot be said to be in vain, but one cannot breathe new life into the park. After some couple of years, the garden comes to desolation again, even employees are not paid wages. The scandal attracts the attention of the authorities, and the park begins to receive funding.
Location and mode of operation
The Southern Cultures Park is located at: Adler, 13 / 3B, Nuporniy Tupik. There are no days off in the garden, but it is open from 9:00 to 18:00. Depending on the time of the year, the work schedule may change, therefore it is recommended that you first check the information by phone.
The price in Adler’s Southern Culture Park for adults is set at 250 rubles. For a child you will have to pay 120 rubles, for children under the age of 7 years admission is free. Also, for some categories of the population, free admission is provided: for people with disabilities, to the participants of the Chernobyl accident and several others.
Any local resident will tell you how to get to the Yuzhnye Kultury park in Adler. You can get on buses following route No. 56, 57, 109, 124, 132, 173, you need to get off at the bus stop of the same name, then walk a bit along Tulpanov Street. You can get off at the Poultry Factory stop and walk to the second entrance along Tsvetochnaya Street towards the sea coast. The park has no other entrances, the whole territory is surrounded by a fence. At the entrance, it is recommended that you first familiarize yourself with the scheme or take a guide.