Borisova Gradina
Coordinates: 42°40′47″N 23°20′29″E / 42.67972°N 23.34139°E
Borisova gradina or Knyaz-Borisova gradina (Bulgarian: Борисова градина or Княз-Борисова градина, translated as Boris' Garden or Knyaz Boris' Garden) is the oldest and best known park in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Its construction and arrangement began in 1884 and it is named after Bulgarian Tsar Boris III.
The history of the garden embraces three periods under three renowned gardeners. All followed the initial scheme, developing it further and perfecting it instead of making radical changes to the original design.
In 1882, the then-mayor of Sofia Ivan Hadzhienov brought Swiss gardener Daniel Neff from Bucharest with the intention to create a garden for the capital of Bulgaria. The mayor's initial plans included first establishing a large nursery where trees, shrubs and flowers for the future garden would grow, also providing material for the already existing gardens and for the streets.
Neff developed the first plan of the garden in the spring of 1882, set up the nursery and built a house for himself, starting construction in 1884. Acacia trees were originally planted, flowerbeds were shaped, a small artificial lake was built and this all was fenced with a hedge of oaks and hawthorns. The nursery produced saplings that met the needs of the city and were also sold to the citizen. Acacia trees were most widely produced together with mulberry trees, trumpet flowers, elm trees, plane trees and others. The nursery was shaped as a garden in 1885 and had an area of 300,000 m² in 1886 with four main alleys.
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