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| This site description is about
one of the picturesque parts of Ukraine - Sofievka.
Sofievka is a big beautiful park in the centre of Ukraine. Its general area is over
150 hectares. It was named Sofievka in honour of Sofia, the wife of the
count Pototskiy (the magnate).
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| Main Alley |
The Main Alley, as you enter, is broad and shady. On the left, from spring through
to autumn, you are reminded of a green jungle. This is where the Dubinka Oak Grove
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Panorama of the Lower Pool. The jet of water from Snake Fountain reaches a height of 20 metres
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begins-here, under the spreading leafy crowns, twilight always reigns even on a sunny day.
On the right, not far from the entrance, beautiful firs encircle the bend of the river.
At first, the Main Alley appears endless for the bends are artfully concealed.
But suddenly,
the green curtain opens before you the Flora Pavilion, named after the goddess of flowers.
In the entire park, this spot is especially lovely. From the Doric columns along the facade
of the pavilion, a breathtaking view is revealed of the Lower Pool whose banks are faced with
grey granite.
On the glassy water on the foreground arises a rock bearing the dark iron sculpture
of a gigantic snake basking peacefully in the sunshine. A transparent column of water jets out
of its wide mouth, spurting up to a height of 20 metres. The splash of its fall reminds you of
hard rain beating down in a thunderstorm. And if a breeze blows across the pool, the resultant
spray against the sun flashes with all the colours of the rainbow.
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Caucasian Hill, profusely overgrown with lilacs and honeysuckle
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From the banks of the Lower
Pool visitors may admire other sights in this green museum-the Caucasian Hill, Belvedere Cliff
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The magnate Potocki decided to preserve his image in the outlines of the Belvedere Cliff
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where a marble statue of Apollo stands-the ancient Greek god of arts. A little further on, a
statue of the Greek dramaturgist Euripides, poses on a granite pedestal. Now the alley winds past
the Terrace of the Muses towards another exquisite creation in the waterway system - the Great
Cascade. It is best viewed from the decorative ironwork bridge crossing the pool or from Assembly Square.
The rushing current moves through the green groves, forcing its way across all obstructions, foaming over the brink
of a steep rock to fall 14.5 metres.
On all sides of the cascade rock little rivulets dance merrily along bringing
with them the intoxicating aromas of the forest. A bit further on, there is a new miracle: you hear the silvery
bubbling of a stream pouring out from the base of a granite wall.
It is a natural spring, crystal clear, and cool
even in the heat of summer. The water is rich in curative mineral salts and falls into an urn ornamented with bronze snakes.
The spring is called Hippocrene.
In the Tempe Valley beside the cascade of the Three Tears, there is an interesting rock resembling a sleeping lion.
And one should not miss visiting Thunder Grotto and listen to the sound of falling water from which the grotto
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waterfall
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takes its name. How exciting it is to travel by boat along the underground River Styx!
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Grotto of Venus built in the form of a Roman temple
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This is an artificial channel faced with bricks and granite, with daylight seeping through
openings cut into the roof. It is almost to quarter of a kilometre long. The boat enters it from Dead Lake and
comes out through the Amsterdam Lock into the Upper Pool. Then, before your eyes appear a marvellous panorama
of the Island of Love bearing the famous Rose Pavilion built in Renaissance style.
You will never forget your first impression of the Grotto of Venus, goddess of love and beauty,
cut into the dam on the Upper Pool. It resembles an antique temple where there is a marble statue of Venus
half concealed by a veil of water.
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