The Trostyanets dendrological park belongs to the most famous Ukrainian monuments of landscape art. Its creation is connected with the name of Ivan Mykhailovych Skoropadskyy (1804-1887), a descendant of Ivan Skoropadskyy, hetman of the Left-Bank Ukraine.
In 1830 in the farm-stead of Trostyanets Ivan Skoropadskyy began construction of the palace and the church, erected dams, as a result there were formed four ponds on the ten-hectare area: the Great Pond, the Kutsykha Pond, the Swan Pond and the Nameless Pond. They became the main element of the future park creation, the first trees of which were planted in 1834.
Since that time and until the death of the estate's proprietor the park had been enlarged, enriched, improved, and become a real natural museum. Together with traditional for local places birches, limes, maples, oaks and conifers the unique
species of trees appeared from the Peterhof, Ryzkyy and Nikitskyy botanical gardens, a great number of exotic plants, such as the Siberian pine and fir, the black pine, the thuja of all species and varieties.
In the 50-ties the Yevstegnyeyev brothers, the gardeners from Peterhof, developed the planning of the park: now the paths, built throughout the whole territory, led to the most original plots and glades. And soon the gardener K.Schlinhof began creation of the artificial mountain landscape, resembling the Alps. The mountain relief occupied about 30 hectares. Almost for three decades there were mounded the Grandfather's Mountain, the Rotunda Mountain, the Watch Mountain, the Shaggy Mountain and other "mountains", which height ran up to 30 meters. Flanks and valleys between them were planted with conifers. The alleys and glades of the park were adorned with sculptures of mythical heroes and gods, arbors and bridges.
From 1951 the park is a dendrological reserve of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; the important research work in park science, dendrology and seed-growing is carried out here.
In all seasons of the year the park strikes visitors by its originality and beauty. Everyone, who has been here at least once, will keep for long in his memory cedar, walnut and yew-tree glades, the Swiss canyon, which opens the artificial Grandfather's Mountain, where the stone Polovtsian idol was erected, and the Swan Pond, and many other impressive things. Its founder Ivan Skoropadskyy was buried in the park, and here the monument was set up to him.
