The Botanical Garden (formerly the Imperial Botanical Garden) in St. Petersburg is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Russia and is part of the structure of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The collection of the Botanical Museum located on the territory of the garden numbers more than 80 thousand samples. The museum exposition is dedicated to the vegetation of the Earth, the history and evolution of plants, plant resources of Russia, the relationship between plants and man.
By decree of 1713, Peter the Great ordered the establishment of the Aptekarsky Garden on one of the islands lying near St. Petersburg. In this regard, the island later became known as the Aptekarsky, as the main purpose of this garden was to cultivate herbs.
Under Catherine II the garden had a length of 300, and width of 200 fathoms (that is, 640 by 425 meters); a large wooden house was built in which the professor of botany lived, and in the summer the president of the Medical Board.
In 1823, the Aptekarsky Garden, due to the scarcity of funds (12,000 rubles in banknotes a year), was in a deplorable state. He had two departments: medical and botanical, but the number of plants of the latter was small - no more than 1,500 species, and with no scientific collections and manuals. At this time, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, count Victor Pavlovich Kochubei, drew attention to him and planned to transform the garden, making it not only a breeding ground for medicinal herbs, but mainly a place for science.
Under Nicholas I the Botanical Garden from 1829 to 1863 expanded and flourished. The staff was increased and so the costs for maintaining the garden doubled, and then it reached 123,000 rubles.
In 1863, under the decree of Emperor Alexander II, the garden was transferred to the Ministry of State Property.
After the revolution of 1917, the gardens were given to the conservatories of the royal residences and private estates of the Aptekarsky Island. In 1919-1931, the main focus of the Botanical Garden was the study of flora, vegetation and plant resources.
After the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the garden was recreated, greenhouses were restored, collections were collected that exceeded pre-war.
Currently, the total area of the conservatories of the Botanical Garden is about 1 hectare, and the length is about 1 km. In them there are more than 7,5 thousand plants.
With the frequency 1-2 times a month in the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg, exhibitions and walks are held on greenhouses, when visitors are given the opportunity to walk around the greenhouses without a guide.
