Alexandra Park is a Victorian park situated in north

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. It is named after

Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, (1 September 1878 – 16 April 1942) was the fourth child and third daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. As the wife o ...

and was opened in 1888. As is typical for parks of the period, it has a formal layout that includes tree lined avenues. It also contains play areas for children. Alexandra Park is believed to be the only park in western Europe to be divided by a three-metre (10') wall. The barrier was erected in 1994 and is one of a number of "

peace wall The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly loyalist and unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. T ...

s" built across the city in attempt to prevent violence between

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Unionist/

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

communities. The wall's foundations were laid on 1 September 1994, the day of the first IRA ceasefire. The northern part of the park was accessible only from the

Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to Der ...

whilst the southern part could only be reached from the Shore Road. In September 2011 a gate linking the two communities was installed in the wall. The gate was initially open on weekdays from 9am to 3pm for a trial period of 3 months.

References

Parks in Belfast Register of Parks, Gardens and Demesnes of Special Historic Interest 1888 establishments in Ireland 1888 establishments in the United Kingdom {{Belfast-stub