Victory Park ( hy, «Հաղթանակ» զբոսայգի ''Haght'anak zbosaygi''), is a

public 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 r ...

located in the Kanaker-Zeytun District of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the capital of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

History

The construction of the park was launched during the late 1930s as the "Arabkir city park", within the frames of the development of the Nor Arabkir neighbourhood at the north of Yerevan; the capital of the

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

. After the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), an ...

, the park was renamed "Victory Park", commemorating the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

victory over

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

at the Eastern Front of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, the Victory Park was opened on November 29, 1950, at the 30th anniversary of the Sovietization of Armenia. On the same day, a 17-meters high copper statue of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

Sergey Merkurov Sergey Dmitrievich Merkurov (russian: Серге́й Дми́триевич Мерку́ров, – 8 June 1952) was a prominent Soviet sculptor-monumentalist of Greek-Armenian descent. He was a People's Artist of the USSR, an academic at the ...

was erected in the park, while the basalt-stoned pedestal of the statue was designed by another People's Artist of the USSR

Rafayel Israyelian Rafayel "Rafo" Israyelian ( hy, Ռաֆայել Իսրայելյան; 8 September 1973) was a Soviet Armenian architect. Seen as a follower of Alexander Tamanian, Israyelian designed some of Soviet Armenia's most prominent structures, including th ...

. In 1962, the statue of Stalin was dismantled, and replaced by the monumental statue of

Mother Armenia Mother Armenia ( hy, Մայր Հայաստան ) is a female personification of Armenia. Her most public visual rendering is a monumental statue in Victory Park overlooking the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan ...

in 1967, designed by architect

Ara Harutyunyan Ara Harutyunyan ( hy, Արա Հարությունյան; March 28, 1928 – February 28, 1999) was an Armenian monumental sculptor, graphic artist, People's Artist of Armenia, corresponding member of Academy of Fine Arts of USSR and Russian Acade ...

. In 1970, a museum dedicated to Armenia's role in the Great Patriotic War was opened within the pedestal of the statue. However in 1995, it was turned into the Military Museum of Armenia governed by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

Description

In 1956, a small

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

was opened on the eastern portion of the park. In 1958, the construction of the Arevik artificial lake designed by architect Hovhannes Hakobyan was launched, and completed in 1961, while in 1959, a restaurant called ''Aragil'' (meaning

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

) designed by Rafayel Israyelian was opened in the park. between 1983 and 1985 the park was closed for major restoration works. On May 9, 1985, the opening of the Heroes Alley and the Unknown Soldier's Tomb took place near the Mother Armenia complex, on the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory at the World War II. In 1989, a new

ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

was installed at the amusement park replacing the old one.

Gallery

File:Stalin statue.jpg, The monumental statue of

which was replaced by the statue of Mother Armenia File:BM-13 Katyusha in Victory Park Yerevan.JPG, Soviet ''Katyusha'' rocket launcher File:SA-2 missile in Victory park of Yerevan.JPG, Soviet S-75 surface-to-air missile File:Mother Armenia, Yerevan, 16.07.2017.jpg, The monumental statue of

at the park File:Ferris Wheel at Victory Park - panoramio.jpg, The Ferris wheel at Victory Park File:Victory Park3, Yerevan 16.jpg, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

References

External links

About Victory Park
{{Yerevan landmarks Infrastructure completed in 1950 Parks in Yerevan Urban public parks