A wonderful creation of human hands – city parks and gardens

Recommendation points

• An excursion into history
• The most famous city parks on the planet
• Hyde Park
• Garden of joy
• Gorky Park
• Summer garden
• Central park
• Al Ain Paradis
• Sky park
• Park Green Lake
• Creation of a modern city park

The integral and most attractive part of the city landscape are, of course, parks and squares. These green corners are a real gift for city dwellers, often the only place for several tens of kilometers around where you can relax surrounded by nature.

There is a park or at least a small square in almost every city, organically woven into the architecture of a metropolis, they express its character and essence, often become a reflection of the traditions and architectural features of the country.

Contact with nature, as scientists insist and prove experience, restores human strength and improves mood, walking in the park, a person receives a charge of vital energy and aesthetic pleasure at the same time.

That is why one should not underestimate the influence of city parks on the overall impression of the metropolis, such “blotches” of greenery not only delight the eye, resting from the monotony of asphalt, high-rise buildings and gray streets, but also have a beneficial effect on the atmosphere of the city as a whole.

An excursion into history

It is safe to say that city parks and gardens arose simultaneously with the cities themselves. Streets trampled by thousands of feet without a single blade of grass and spaces built up with houses without trees would look too bleak. Our ancestors, most of whom remained villagers at heart, set up parks with great pleasure and love. I would like to believe that in this way the inhabitants of the first cities realized a craving for beauty, however, according to historians, the first parks were ordinary orchards with even rows of cabbage, carrots and medicinal plants.

Most likely, the first European park looked like a small piece of land behind a high fortress wall, divided into simple squares and rectangles and planted with extremely useful plants that would allow the inhabitants not to starve in the event of a siege or save money on buying vegetables from local peasants. Such corners of greenery were decorated with small ponds, baths or gazebos, first of all functional, and then beautiful …

Most often, gardens arose at a castle, fortress or monastery and were not public places, becoming private property and the pride of the owner.

It is generally accepted that the art of creating parks not for the sake of profit, but to satisfy aesthetic impulses was born in China, however, even in Ancient Egypt, Assyria and other ancient states, parks and gardens appeared, the beauty of which was simply amazing. The famous Semiramis Gardens can serve as a striking example of a magnificent garden, a real Wonder of the World. It is interesting that these hanging gardens were not built at all for the queen of Babylon, whose name they have been bearing for more than 2 thousand years, but for the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II – Amitis. It takes a long time to retell this beautiful love story of a tsar who tried to create a corner of his homeland for his wife in a strange city. It is worth noting only the art of the creators who built a whole pyramid, on four tiers of which there were thousands of plants, small ponds, waterfalls and picturesque terraces.

This is exactly how, judging by the description, the Gardens of Semiramis could look

The priests of Ancient Egypt also completely mastered the art of creating compositions from plants, reservoirs and stone; in the East, the attitude to the garden was always reverent, since caring for the plants required huge expenses associated with the construction of special canals for irrigation and the delivery of water. Therefore, own garden became a sign of prosperity, in the East even a saying appeared: “He is too poor – he has no shadow”.

Park art migrated to Europe from China and began to develop rapidly in the 15th century. Later, such types of parks appeared as:

French garden– with a geometrically correct layout and straight paths. The trees do not grow here as they please, but are carefully trimmed, the bushes are given the most bizarre shape. A striking example of a French garden is, of course, the Park of Versailles.

Park in Versailles, France

The English park is more natural, similar to an ordinary forest or grove. The British tried to make their park unpredictable, full of surprises, less “sleek” than the French.

English garden in Munich

The Italian garden is distinguished by a complex relief, it is characterized by a stepped shape, stone is often used, mostly white and, of course, sculpture.

Italian garden with antique sculptures and patio

Japanese garden – all the constituent elements should be harmoniously combined here: water, stone and wood. Japanese-style parks are meant to be peaceful, not entertaining, most often they are not too big.

Japanese garden

The most famous city parks on the planet

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is a luxurious, truly royal park in London, its area is more than 1.4 square kilometers. This picturesque green area can be safely called the oldest city park in Europe – it existed even before the Norman conquest (XI century) and belonged to Westminster Abbey. Later the monastery was disbanded and the park went to the treasury. It was open to the public since the 16th century and soon became a favorite walking place for Londoners.

Bird’s eye view of Hyde Park

Garden of joy

Yuyuan (this is what the name of this city park sounds like) is located in Shanghai, surrounded by the old quarters of the city. Everything here is saturated with oriental philosophy, every corner and fragment is very symbolic. Thus, the “Pavilion of Three Ears” symbolizes prosperity, and the “Moon Bridge” separates the upper world from the human.

The highlight of the park is a small pond with lotuses and an island on which the Heart of the Lake tea house stands.

The Garden of Joy, Shanghai

Gorky Park

The largest and most famous park in Moscow bears the name of the most proletarian writer – Maxim Gorky. Founded in 1928, it occupies a solid territory – about 100 hectares. In 2011, a large-scale reconstruction began in the park, all outdated attractions were dismantled, new recreation areas were equipped, including a skate park, the largest sandbox in Moscow, an open-air cinema, a mini-football field, a beach and much more..

Entrance to Gorky Park in Moscow

Summer garden

One of the most attractive sights of St. Petersburg can rightfully be called the Summer Garden, founded by order of Peter the Great in the center of the Northern capital. This monument of landscape gardening art of the early 18th century was originally created as a summer residence of the tsar; to create a garden on swampy soil, laborious, complex reclamation work was required.

In June 2009, the reconstruction of the Summer Garden began, which was completed recently – in February 2012. Restoration work, planting new trees, cutting down the dead, as well as creating copies of the original marble statues that will go to the museum, cost the city treasury 2.3 billion rubles.

Entrance to the Summer Garden, St. Petersburg

Central park

The most prestigious, main park in New York, a place where residents of the Big Apple can often spend the whole day, is Central Park.

The total area of ​​Central Park is 3.4 square kilometers, it looks very natural, but almost all landscapes were created by hand, and the lakes are artificial. London’s Hyde Park and Parisian Bois de Boulogne were the models for creating a park in New York that became “easy” for overcrowded Manhattan. Construction was carried out from 1857 to 1873, now Central Park, having survived the reconstruction that began in 1981, serves as a place for recreation and walking for most of the residents of this part of New York.

Panorama of Central Park, New York

Al Ain Paradis

The United Arab Emirates is traditionally considered a real wonderland – a mass of skyscrapers, artificial islands, huge shopping centers and oriental bazaars attract tourists from all over the planet. It is not surprising that it was in the UAE, in the city of Al Ain, located in the desert, that a unique Flower Garden appeared, a place where plants from all over the world now bloom..

The flower garden in Al Ain covers 20 hectares; in the center there is a copy of the Eiffel Tower, chosen by the sheikhs, apparently because of its beauty or to show sympathy for France. Blooming arches in the form of hearts and pyramids, pillars and columns entwined with flowers – flowers are literally everywhere here. The garden is surrounded by an artificial stream, in which the water flows in an ingenious closed loop to save precious fresh water.

Interestingly, immediately after the opening, Al-Ain Paradis was seriously affected by the invasion of visitors, each of whom tried to bring home at least one flower unusual for the desert. Now the garden has been restored and is now guarded more carefully..

Al Ain Paradis in the UAE

Sky park

The lack of free plots of land, which is incredibly expensive in the center of Singapore, led to the fact that the authorities of this country decided to create a garden simply on the roof of a skyscraper, or rather even three skyscrapers.

Sky Park was opened in 2010 and became a worthy successor to the famous Semiramis Gardens, located at a height of the 55th floor, on a specially mounted 340 meter platform.

The platform in the form of a huge boat is supported by the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. In addition to plants, there are: the most expensive casino in Singapore, swimming pools (the largest is 150 meters long), a restaurant and, of course, an amazingly beautiful observation deck.

Sky Park in Singapore

Park Green Lake

Another amazing, very unusual, but no less beautiful park is located in the Tragoess municipality, among the alpine peaks, in Austria.

This park has existed for only six months – in autumn and winter, when the mountain peaks are covered with snow, and in summer, when the snow melts, the territory of the park is filled with water, which often remains here until the end of summer. Green Lake is a place where in the cold season it is so nice to walk under the trees, and in the spring you can put on an aqualung and swim over the same bench where you sat in the fall, admiring the falling leaves.

Green lake in Austria

Creation of a modern city park

At first glance, it may seem that there is nothing difficult in creating an ordinary city park: plant trees for yourself on an area free from buildings and equip paths. Meanwhile, it is not in vain that there is such a specialty as a landscape designer, who, when arranging a green zone, must take into account factors such as soil and soil characteristics, irrigation systems, drainage, and so on..

However, ordinary citizens do not need to go into such details at all, the main thing for them is that the park is:

1. Beautiful
2. It would be equipped with separate recreation areas or at least comfortable benches
3. There should be other entertainments in the park besides the pleasure of contemplating nature: attractions, a museum, or, in extreme cases, a playground.

The main problem of Russian parks, which were laid out during the Soviet era, is the prevalence of entertainment over nature itself. For example, in the central part of Gorky Park in Moscow there are so many buildings and structures that there is simply no room left for plants..

The main principle of creating an ideal city park can be confidently called a harmonious combination of green areas with recreation areas, the presence of such elements as bicycle paths, places for walking with animals, and so on. Multifunctionality will allow the park to perform two main functions – to serve as “light” for the surrounding stone jungle and a place for pleasant and useful pastime for local residents.