Moscow State University’s Apothecary GardenIn 1706, by decree of Peter the Great, a garden was founded beyond the Sukharev Tower in what was then the northern outskirts of Moscow, to grow medicinal herbs. That garden is now known as Moscow State University’s Apothecary Garden. It was originally owned by the Apothecary Board, before passing to the Moscow Infirmary and, towards the end of the 18th century, the Medical Surgical Academy. The plants grown here were used not only to make medicine, but also to train medical students and future doctors in botany.
Like many other medicinal gardens in Europe, by the beginning of the 19th century the Garden had collected hundreds of species of plants whose value lay not so much in their medicinal properties – both proven and hypothetical – as in their importance for studying and teaching botany. It was for that reason that Moscow University settled on this site when moving its original botanic garden from Mokhovaya Street in the city centre: the Garden was purchased by the University in 1805 and still belongs to it today. (Moscow State University’s Apothecary Garden, 2017) Over the years, many well-known scientists have worked here, making exceptionally valuable contributions to the development of Russian history with nature and medicine. In this Garden, thousands of students and school pupils have penetrated the secrets of the plant kingdom. Nonetheless, there are also plenty of visitors that come to the garden just to relax in the shade of the historical park, to admire the manicured flower beds and to marvel at our hothouse collection of exotic plants from various countries. In the three centuries since it was established, the Apothecary Garden, like Russia as a whole, has lived through tough times as well as good times. Yet still today it continues to fulfill its noble mission to inform people about the incredible world of plants and its importance for the Earth and its inhabitants. |