Arboretum Sofiyivka

Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, Ukraine

---

Arboretum Sofiyivka (also called Sofiyivsky Park or National Dendrological Park “Sofiyivka”) is a historic landscape park and scientific arboretum in the northern part of Uman in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, created as a romantic English-style garden along the Kamianka River and recognized as one of Ukraine’s most celebrated examples of late 18th- and early 19th-century garden art. Founded in 1796 by Polish nobleman Stanisław Potocki as a gift for his Greek wife Sofia (Zofia), the park was officially opened in June 1802 and was designed around the idea of weaving elements of Roman and Greek mythology, with features named after the Odyssey and Iliad such as the River Acheron, Muses’ Terrace, Ionian Sea, and Anti-Circe’s Island, giving the whole landscape a poetic, myth-inspired character. The site covers about 179 hectares and today functions as both a public attraction and a scientific-research institution of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, housing more than 1,200 plant species and preserving ancient trees, including 400-year-old oaks, alongside artificial water features like ponds, waterfalls, fountains, and stone grottoes, as well as decorative architecture such as caves, pavilions, bridges, and sculptures in classical and romantic styles.