Orangery of VDNH (Expocentre of Ukraine), Pavilion No. 28 'Floriculture and Landscape Gardening'

The orangery was born with the exhibition complex itself. VDNH, built between 1952 and 1958 and opened on 6 July 1958 over 287 hectares, had more than 180 buildings; the site's official page dates the appearance of the glass orangery to that year, when it was conceived as a floriculture pavilion. At the time it was almost the only place in Kyiv where exotic plants could be seen. In the 1970s, as VDNH's general director recalled in 2021, it became a full pavilion of its own, devoted to floriculture and landscape gardening. Flower shows and contests among amateur flower growers were held there, and local species were displayed beside tropical, subtropical and desert plants.

The orangery later declined. In May 2021 the management launched a fundraising drive of 2.5 million hryvnias to save plants that had been growing there for sixty years; the charity entrance introduced in August 2020 had persuaded only three visitors in a thousand. At the end of June 2021 the greenhouse, described as being in an emergency state, saw the reconstruction of the frame of its three halls reach completion, with a reopening announced for the summer. On 15 June 2026, during a massive attack on Kyiv, it was reported as particularly hard hit, with 62 panes broken; VDNH stayed open.

The orangery is a glazed pavilion divided into three halls, standing to the right of VDNH's central entrance under number 28. In the photographs on Wikimedia Commons one can make out large metal-framed glazing on a masonry plinth, a columned portico at the front and dense climbing vegetation on the walls. In OpenStreetMap the building is tagged 'conservatory' with the number 28 and its outline covers about 720 m².

The programme presented in May 2021 included repair of the structure and replacement of the windows, a new heating system, insulation of the glazing to reduce heat loss, restoration of the drains and new toilets for visitors. In June 2021 the Expocentre press office announced the completion of the reconstruction of the frame of the three halls, a watering system under way, a reception desk, a photo zone and a 'green office' for gardeners behind the greenhouse. The orangery is among the twenty buildings of the complex protected as local architectural monuments; the national status granted in 2021 concerns the main pavilion and the main entrance, not the greenhouse.

The official site and the press describe palms, mandarin trees and lemon trees in the three halls, with some specimens more than seventy years old; in 2021 the management spoke of plants that had been there for sixty years. The general director of the time described the original layout: a first hall of subtropical plants (cypresses, palms, azaleas), a second of cacti, aloes and lianas, a third of ornamental subtropical species (lemons, oranges, mandarins, feijoa, pomegranate, fig, avocado, laurel). A rockery and a decorative pond completed the whole; the pavilion showed 300 cultivated species and 90 species of wild flora in all.

Photographs from 2023 on Commons show agaves and potted plants beneath the metal window frames, among other things. A restaurant, KVITKOVA.Orangery, occupies part of the space, where one can have a coffee among palms and citrus trees.

Pavilion No. 28 stands to the right of VDNH's central entrance, about 400 m as the crow flies from Vystavkovyi Tsentr metro station. The official site announces a season from 1 March to 1 November, hours that vary with events and are posted each Sunday on the orangery's Instagram account, and cashless payment only. During air-raid alerts the visit is interrupted: Pavilion No. 5 serves as the shelter.

The visit combines with the rest of the complex, including the main pavilion and monumental entrance, nationally protected since 2021, and the neighbouring 'Garden of Wishes'. After the damage of June 2026, it is wise to check that the orangery is open before travelling.