Did you know that if you were the citizen of Kyiv with some sort of income or the guest of the Kyivan in the early 19^th century, you would probably have met hieromonk Hilarion, the gardener of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and made friends with him?

The Garden was planted on Pechersk Hill and stretched along the suburbs of the Zvirynets locality. It covered the area of over 22 hectares. Today its territory belongs to Ivan Bohun Kyiv Military Lyceum and runs in the direction of surrounding areas.

In 1823, Dosipheus, the housekeeper of Lavra, counted 4,254 fruit trees in the Garden. Mostly those were cherries, sweet cherries, apple trees, plums and walnuts. Besides, other plants, such as vegetables, berries, fragrant and medicinal herbs also grew there. During the harvest period, the Garden of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Zvirynets area turned into a real open-air eco-market. There one could buy elite fruits and vegetables. Queues were not typical and prices corresponded to the quality of the purchased products. Among the buyers one could see Kyiv governors, vice-governors, counts, princes, and the highest military ranks. Of course, there were also venders known as Podil “varenschitsy” – young ladies from Balabukhivny and Bilousovy families that were selling different sorts of sweets. The sellers were “fighting” for the buyers as the competition in the Kyiv “sweet treats” market was rather strong.

The Garden of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was also the center of selection: plant grafts from the nursery garden and vegetable seeds grew in many Kyiv estates.

It was here, on the territory of the Garden, where actual state councilor and writer Ivan Martos (who then lived in Lavra and rented apartment there) met gardener Hilarion. They became friends and started cooperating. Their creative collaboration gave birth to the first domestic textbook on horticulture, entitled “Horticultural products cultivated by Hilarion, the monk of Holy Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” (1826).

In 1862–1915, a two-class Lavra parochial school operated on the territory of the Garden.

At all times, the Garden was one of the largest and most luxurious places of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Though the situation changed in 1915, when its territory became the property of the Kyiv Fortress Engineering Department.

Captions to the illustrations:

1. Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Garden on the plan of the part of Zvirynets suburban area, 1890

2. Title page of the manuscript of Ivan Martos “Horticultural products cultivated by Hilarion, the monk of Holy Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”, 1826.

3. Lavra fruit products. Manuscript of Ivan Martos “Horticultural products cultivated by Hilarion, the monk of Holy Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”, 1826.

Natalia Lytvyn