Haritonovskij sad, Yekaterinburg

Kharitonovsky Garden is an English park in Yekaterinburg, adjacent to the Rastorguevs-Kharitonovs' estate. The park was laid out in 1826. The park has an artificial lake with two bulk islands and a round arbor-rotunda.

In the southern part of the park, the only structure of the original garden structures in the park remains: a grotto. The grotto was originally a domed structure made of bricks and covered with earth from the outside "in imitation of a cave", and on top of it stood a wooden pergola made in the Chinese style. In the grotto Rhenish wines were kept and ice-cream was made. There was a table in the pavilion, and under the table there was an elevator driven by a gate, and from the grotto the ice cream went directly to the pavilion. Today only the brick underground part is preserved. The grotto is one of the elements of the cultural heritage of the Rastorguev-Kharitonov estate.

The symbol of the park is the rotunda, built on an artificial island in the center of the pond. This rotunda was erected in 1935-1937 during the reconstruction of the park, led by architect V. Emelyanov. Before that there were no artificial structures on the islands. Initially from the center of the rotunda spurted fountain jets, but for a very long time, the fountain is not working.

An old rotunda in the southern part of the park at the top of the hill is an object of cultural heritage that has not survived. Three stone stairs diverged from the rotunda, and it was depicted in unique color photographs by Prokudin-Gorsky in 1910. In Soviet times it was used as a chess clubhouse, games room and library in the garden of the Palace of Pioneers, but in the 70s and 80s it began to fall into disrepair and was used as a warehouse for storing sets. Finally, after a fire was demolished in 1990. In 2005, at the request of the city was developed project for the reconstruction of the park, which included the restoration of the rotunda, but due to the transition of the park from municipal to federal ownership, the project was frozen.

According to some reports, there are old underground passages under the park, one of which was discovered after the collapse in 1924. According to legends, old-time merchant Lev Ivanovich Rastorguev, fearing persecution, built passages from his home through the park, under Ascension Square to the city pond. According to other legends, these passages are the remains of secret adits, where Rastorguev mined gold.

Volunteer and charitable movement In 2011 we painted the rotunda and put benches along the lake. In 2012, several volunteer events were held to clean up the park, and a playground was added. 2013 saw a number of volunteer and charity events.