Sharing ‘Green Heritage’ at Moscow

The cultural historical atlas of the Lefortovo Park has been presented to Mr. Alexander Kibovsky, Minister of Culture Heritage of the City of Moscow, as well as to the Russian counterparts during the 2013 Denkmal event in Art Play. The Atlas on this shared green heritage is the resulted of collaboration between the Dutch Embassy in Moscow, The Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) and H+N+S.

In 2012, the RCE commissioned the private landscape architect Hank van Tilborg (director of H+N+S) to compose a cultural historical atlas of the Lefortovo Park in Moscow. This old ‘green heritage’, located along the river Yauza, has a historical connection with the Netherlands due to its multi-talented designer Nicolaas Bidloo (ca. 1674-1735). The atlas is a tailor-made instrument to bridge the knowledge gap between history and design. The document aims to support a fruitful dialogue on the future development of the Lefortovo Park and its vicinity.

Since 2010, the Lefortovo Park at Moscow has been included in the Dutch-Russian programme of Shared Cultural Heritage. This age old ‘green heritage’, located along the river Yauza, has a historical connection with the Netherlands due to its multi-talented designer Nicolaas Bidloo (1673?-1735). Contracted in 1702, the Dutch-born Bidloo traveled from Amsterdam to Moscow to serve Tsar Peter the Great as his personal physician for a couple of years. Gardening was Bidloo’s greatest joy. He had managed to develop a medical garden for the Military Hospital (of which he had become the first director), as well as a private country estate (nowadays disappeared).

The Tsar frequented Bidloo’s ‘little hermitage’ whenever in Moscow and he ordered him to design a ‘Dutch’ private garden in 1722-1724. This was located nearby, on the former estates of the late officers Franz Lefort and Fyodor Golovin along the river Yauza; hence the name Lefortovo park. Bidloo proposed to create five ponds, two dams – with artificial grottos and mythological sculptures of Venus and Hercules – and a system of canals, cascades and fountains, which defined the character of an unprecedented ‘water park’.

Nowadays, the main structure with ponds and canals still remains, though most trees have been replanted after the 1904 tornado. Also, the surroundings are changed by Moscow’s metropolitanization. Nevertheless, the humanist spirit of Bidloo’s ideas of a good and healthy life is still present at the place.