The Benoit Garden - a new cultural and educational space in St. Petersburg

In the cultural capital of our country there are many beautiful and interesting places for walking and rest. More recently, in St. Petersburg, there was another creative green space - the Benois garden. It is a unique historical landmark, which has been in utter desolation for more than 10 years. Today, justice has triumphed, and the garden is again ready to receive guests.

Historical reference

The history of the modern Benois garden began at the very end of the XIX century. A plot of land on the outskirts of St. Petersburg was leased to the architect Julius Yu. Benois for the construction of a farm. By 1904, a complex of buildings was erected, which included a dwelling house (Benoit's dacha), a water tower, a cowshed, sheds. The farm quickly developed and was considered exemplary and advanced in many ways.

On its territory there was a laboratory in which the milk was processed before being sent to the dairy. In total, the farm had about 200 thoroughbred cows, and in 1913 the farm received high awards.

Remarkably, even during the First World War the Benois farmhouse flourished.

Benois Farm in the Soviet Period and Modern Time

In 1918 the farm was nationalized. Its new name is "1st city dairy farm", but many residents of the city still called its garden Benoit. St. Petersburg gradually expanded, the farm developed along with the city. Gradually, it began to grow vegetables, as well as raise rabbits, pigs and birds.

In the early twentieth century, the farm was named "State Farm" Lesnoye. " The enterprise did not stop its work during the Second World War and received many awards in the postwar period.

In 1968 the state farm was moved to the Leningrad region, and the Benois garden was decided to be used for public needs.

In 1973, near the farmer's house, the construction of the tower of the Central Research Institute of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics was started. Somewhat later, the territory, together with all the preserved historical buildings, was transferred to the school of art education.

The history of the desolation of the once advanced farm begins in 2001 - then the main wooden building burned down. The very same territory of the park remained virtually orphaned.

In 2006, the green zone is returned to the historic name - "The Garden of Benois". St. Petersburg at this time is actively improving, discussions are also underway on the transformation of the territory of the former farm into a recreation park.

The shepherd turns into a cultural object!

Its historic history begins in 2011. The green territory, which by that time had turned into a littered wasteland, was sold to the commercial company OOO Best. Almost immediately after the acquisition, work was begun on the improvement of the territory and the restoration of buildings.

The Benois garden was transformed into a cultural and educational space by the intention of new owners. The dacha building was erected from scratch from old photographs, and today it also has a multidisciplinary supplementary education center for children and adults.

In the restored building of the former barns the restaurant "Farm Benoit" was opened. The green territory of the park and two ponds are actively landscaped.

Interesting facilities and activities in the Benois Gardens today

To date, works on the improvement of the garden and park area and the development of the cultural and educational environment are continuing. But, despite this fact, over the past year the Benois garden (St. Petersburg) has become a favorite place for recreation of many residents of the city. The restaurant and the educational center have already begun their work, during public holidays in the green zone, various events for children and adults are held.

The summer of 2015 was remembered thanks to the exhibition, which was organized by artist Nikolai Kopeikin. The garden of Benoit has been turned into an interactive exhibition area. To get acquainted with the exposition, it's enough to download a branded application to your smartphone. With the help of this program it was necessary to consider "through the phone" art objects located in the garden. A short video was created for each exhibit. The project was called "ABC of Benois" and was very popular with visitors of the park.

The garden administration promises many interesting surprises and bright events in the future. Follow the news and visit the Benoit Garden!