One of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe, located in the Crimea near Yalta on the shores of the Black Sea. It was founded in 1812 by the Russian botanist Christian Stephen. The total area of the garden is 11 square kilometers, and includes more than 50,000 species of plants, separated by many cobbled stone paths, and the garden is adorned with a number of water fountains and stone statues. The garden is now part of the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, as the garden houses a scientific research center and seed laboratory.