The Kremenets Botanical Garden is one of Ukraine’s oldest and largest: founded in 1806 at the famous Kremenets Lyceum, it now covers 200 hectares on the slopes of the Kremenets Hills, with an elevation difference of about 150 metres. It holds over 2,000 plant taxa, a magnolia garden, a rose garden, an alpine garden and dozens of Red Book species. Here is its history, what to see and how to plan a visit.
More on this topic: botanical gardens of Ukraine, Lviv Botanical Garden, Chernivtsi Botanical Garden, shade-loving flowers.
The garden was founded in 1806 at the Volhynian Gymnasium, later the Kremenets Lyceum. Irish gardener Denis McClair laid it out, and from 1809 physician and botanist Willibald Besser directed it. By 1810–1811 it had grown to 20 hectares and over 2,300 species. When the lyceum closed in 1832 the collections went to Kyiv, forming the basis of Kyiv University’s botanical garden. The Kremenets garden was revived in 1990 and is now a landscape monument of national importance.
Of its 200 hectares, about 170 are forest on the Kremenets Hills and about 30 are collection and display plots: a magnolia garden, rose garden, alpine garden, conifer garden, arboretum, and ornamental, medicinal and fruit collections. Its special value lies in combining world collections with the native flora of the Kremenets Hills, including over 100 rare species, more than 50 of them in Ukraine’s Red Book.
Besides the collections, a few spots are worth adding to your route:
The garden is home to 165 animal species, and protected plants include lady’s slipper orchid, pasque flower and 11 species of the magnolia family.
Exact dates depend on the weather each year.
Prices and conditions may change — check with the garden’s office. Other gardens in Ukraine are covered in botanical gardens of Ukraine.
Ternopil-region travel reviews of the Kremenets garden most often mention:
The most common tip is to combine the garden with Bona Castle Hill and old Kremenets and make a full day of it.
What to photograph in the garden and on the trails:
Kremenets is not just collections but a real forest on the slopes. Three eco-trails total 14.5 km, and longer hikes start from the garden:
The elevation change is about 150 metres, so pace yourself and bring water. The garden also offers camping spots — check conditions with the office.
Kremenets is a small town, so you can easily combine the garden with Bona Castle Hill and the old town.
If you miss the magnolias, greet your loved ones with a bouquet: flower delivery in Kremenets, roses, tulips or boxed flowers.
See roses and flowers in a box.
In 1806, at the Volhynian Gymnasium (later the Kremenets Lyceum).
200 hectares, about 30 of them collection plots.
In Kremenets, Ternopil region, 5 Botanichna Street.
The office works Mon–Thu 9:00–18:00 and Fri 9:00–16:45; visits are by guided tour booked at +380 3546 2 15 48.
30–60 minutes; hikes from the garden are 5–6.5 km and take 4.5–5 hours.
Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
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