Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure ( rus, Центральный парк культуры и отдыха имени Горького , r=Tsentralny park kultury i otdykha imeni Gorkogo, p=tsɨnˈtralʲnɨj ˈpark kʊlʲˈturɨ i ˈoddɨxə ˈimɪnɪ ˈɡorkova) is a central

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

Rostov oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, named after

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

. It is the eldest park in Rostov-on-Don. The park was established in 1813 on the skirts of the city. Now it is located in center of Rostov-on-Don between Pushkinskaya street (Gorky Park North),

Bolshaya Sadovaya street Bolshaya (Russian language for "big") may refer to: * Bolshaya, Arkhangelsk, a village * Bolshaya chistka, "Great Purge", the 1936–1938 Soviet purge * Bolshaya Izhora, an urban locality in the Lomonosovsky District of Leningrad Oblast * Bolshay ...

(Gorky Park South), Budyonovskiy avenue (Gorky Park West) and Semashko lane (Gorky Park East). Since 1998 the park is protected as an object of cultural heritage of regional value.

History

The park was established in

arroyos Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

, where dirty stream ran. Town dump occupied this place. Mayor of Rostov-on-Don Alexander Yashchenko owned the territory. He handed it to the city magistrate. Different private organizations improved the territory. The first trees, shrubs, and plants were transplanted to the park. There were several gardens initially, which were combined into the new urban park. The so-called Lower Park (Nizhny Park) and Upper Park (Verhny Park) has been formed through the terrain. A wooden building of the first Municipal Theatre opened in the northern side of the park in the 1840s. Wooden rotunda to relax of citizens was erected in 1864. It was replaced by stone building located on Pushkinskaya street alongside of main park entrance in 1893. Architect Nikolai Doroshenko designed an open-work fence and front entrance constructed in the shape of fortress gates. New entrance was located on

. Architect Vladimir Shkitko projected the first fountain in Rostov-on-Don called 'Boy with basin'. The opening ceremony was held in conjunction with relocation of the town council to new building (Maximov house). The fountain was officially opened by projector of water pipe Timofey Petrovich Kuska. Pool and arbors were decorated with sculptures opened in middle porch of the park. At the Lower Park was a stone grotto, reservoir with alive swans and fountains. Flower ornaments were regularly renovated. A large area of new exotic plants and flowers was laid out. Palm trees and tamarisks were brought from abroad.

Description

The park, with a perimeter of , occupies an area of 12.2 hectares (30 acres). While planting and land form in much of the park appear natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped. The park contains extensive walking tracks, seven fountains, rotunda, playgrounds, amusement rides, cafe, chess pavilion and parkways decorated with sculptures. Indoor attractions include observatory, Monument to Lenin and

Monument of the Great October Revolution ''Monument of the Great October Revolution'' was a Soviet monument that was located on the October Revolution Square from 1977–1991 (now Independence Square) in Kiev, at the time the capital of the Ukrainian SSR as part of the Soviet Unio ...

. In addition there are open-air gallery in which hosts expositions of

applied art The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...

and works by Rostov artists.

References

{{reflist Tourist attractions in Rostov-on-Don Amusement parks in Russia Maxim Gorky Cultural heritage monuments in Rostov-on-Don Parks in Rostov-on-Don Parks in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Rostov Oblast