Gardens Of Livadia
Until today most of us have probably encountered Borodino Park, Detsky Park, “1st of May” Park, which are located in the center. Gardens of Livadia. The first image that came to my mind was the vast beauty of the Gardens of Versailles in France and the magnificent gardens of Peterhof in Saint Petersburg. Such a fancy name which hardly sounds something that might have existed here in Kursk. But keep reading.
From the building of the Kursk hotel and all the way to the Dynamo stadium. Such a vast area located in the heart of Kursk. But in the second half of the 19th century, there were middle-class courtyards with small houses, dense gardens, and small vegetable gardens, separated from the noisy and busy Lenina street.
Only in 1908, a public garden “Livadia” was here, on the land devoid of buildings. The tenant of the amusement garden, summer theater, a terrace for recreation and a stage for musicians was Evdokimov, who came up with an intriguing name “Livadia” for the garden which was based on the name of the summer Royal residence of Imperial Palace in the neo-Renaissance style in Crimea.
By this time, the Lazaretny garden on Semenovskaya street, a favorite place for local festivities, had lost its popularity. The new garden “Livadia” was intended for the rest of the poor diverse public and proved to be very useful in the city.
On the left is a summer theater, while on the right is a restaurant that was famous for their excellent culinary. At the end of May 1908, many people flocked here. The opening of the new city garden was marked by the performances “Spring stream”. From then on, there were frequent international guest performances, as well as famous Russian artists.
The main entrance to the Livadia garden was from Chikinskaya street (Vatutina street), on the very spot where the Drama theater now stands. In the summer seasons, string orchestra music was played in the evenings.
During the civil war, it quickly fell into a state of despair, as the garden buildings were destroyed. But repairs were made and some enhancements were done. In the garden, once had a casino, and a 24-hour restaurant inside it. Noisy, bright and cheerful garden theater organized entertaining rides, arranged a fun room of curved mirrors.
In the 1920s the city garden was named “Hermitage”. Such a mysterious and intriguing name! The French word “hermitage” means “a quiet place” or “a place of loneliness”. So how could it be called hermitage, if it was the epicenter of a vivid culture of life? There was a diverse set of entertainment: you can go to the ‘House of Mirrors’ or get a seat at the operetta. But the New Economy Policy shut down, and together with it, the garden was left in absolute silence.
In May 1930, the garden was briefly transferred to the Red Army Garrison House. At that time, there was an open stage, a reading room, a cinema, a billiard room, a buffet, and a newly organized restaurant. The garden was decorated with a public shooting range with mechanical targets. Unfortunately, the entrance to the garden was free only for the soldiers.
The end of the city garden began in 1932 when the construction of the stadium “Dynamo” was planned. 200 thousand rubles were allocated for its construction. As the stadium was completed in 1936, equally marked the end of the garden’s unique existence.
REFERENCE
1. old-kursk.ru/kp/kp016.html
2. old-kursk.ru/book/post-cart/page91.html
3. old-kursk.ru/book/post-cart/page98.html
