First Pharmaceutical Garden in Yekaterinburg (1739–1775)

Abstract

Drawing on extensive archival research, this article examines the establishment of the first pharmaceutical garden in Yekaterinburg under the direction of Chief Pharmacist Ludwig Christian Meynders, a German specialist who arrived in the Urals in August 1738. The study demonstrates that the garden was laid out in the spring of 1739 and initially stocked with seeds purchased by Meynders at his own expense en route to Yekaterinburg. From 1740 onward, Meynders began to utilize seeds from plants cultivated in the garden itself. For the first time, the article identifies the range of cultivated species, which included poppy, hyssop, lemon balm, nasturtium, marjoram, lovage, sage, savory, mint, aquilegia, althaea, mallow, fern, and others. The research presents data on the annual cost savings achieved by ceasing to import medicinal herbs from Moscow pharmacies between 1738 and 1744. It also traces the expansion of both the search for medicinal plants and the variety of species grown in the garden during the 1740s. The article details the locations and conditions for storing harvested plants, as well as measures taken to improve irrigation and overall care of the garden plots. It is shown that Meynders compiled the first herbarium of medicinal plants collected in the Urals and grown in the garden, which he used for the training of apprentice pharmacists. The study concludes that this pharmaceutical garden — the first of its kind in the Urals and Siberia — played a crucial role in supplying medicinal supplies to the Yekaterinburg hospital and other state-run hospital facilities at industrial plants across the region.