Sofiya Pototska, the 18th century femme fatale, was known to break many hearts with her unearthly beauty. Her husband, Polish magnate Stanislav Pototsky, was hopelessly under her spell.
To show his love, he gave Pototska an enormous park for her birthday. It became an architectural and design gem of its time and still carries her name.
The 180-hectare Sofiyivka park in Uman (www.sofiyivka.org.ua/en) took six years to be built in an originally nearly treeless area.
Sofiya Pototska, the 18th century femme fatale
The workers skillfully used the landscape’s natural features. By design, it was supposed to illustrate Homer’s poems Iliad and Odyssey.
Many of the park’s sights are named after gods of ancient mythology: the pond of the Ionic Sea, Tantalus Grotto and Apollo.
The most popular material for construction was granite, which is in abundance in the area. Having no equipment but their own hands, many Ukrainian peasants died while moving the huge rocks which were used to design numerous artificial waterfalls of the park.
Taking advantage of the popularity of this tourist destination, locals take visitors around the park for horse riding or perform music on the streets to fill the air with lovely melodies and to hopefully earn some money.
The park has its own flock of sheep, grazing park’s hills which, surprisingly, are free from litter. Numerous ponds are homes for swans and ducks.
The fountain shaped as a snake is famous for its engineering genius and simplicity – operating without any pump, a 15-meter high water column is a result of a difference in water pressure.
Sofiyivka is a popular wedding site among couples from all over Ukraine, given the romantic idea behind the park’s story.
