The Stepanavan Dendropark (also called Sojut, arm. – Սոճուտ) is an arboretum located near Gyulagarak (arm. – Գյուլագարակ) village, Armenia’s Lori province (about 85 km north of Yerevan). It was established in 1933 by Polish engineer-forester Edmon Leonovich. The arboretum is 35 ha in total of which 17.5 ha consist of natural forest and 15 ha of ornamental trees.

This collection expanded along the newly-constructed footpaths and vistas which began to reach into the natural forest and is thought to be the first place in the Transcaucasus, where a natural forest landscape had been reshaped into a Forest Park.

The Stepanavan Dendropark consists of deciduous forest and ornamental plantings with avenues of Lime (Tilia cordata), and wild sourced specimens of Juglans, Malus, Populus and Pyrus.

Most specimens were acquired from other botanic gardens as part of an international exchange programmes with the Botanic Garden in Tbilisi, (Georgia), Kiev (Ukraine), Nikitski, (Crimea, Ukraine), Leningrad and Moscow Central (Soviet Union) as well as the Far East.

Specimens were also obtained further afield from Germany, France, Portugal, China and the U.S.A. There are now more than 500 introduced species.

Text from wikipedia