English Park, Yerevan

40°10′27″N 44°30′29″E / 40.17417°N 44.50806°E / 40.17417; 44.50806Area5.5 hectaresCreated1860s
reopened 3 October 1910Operated byYerevan City CouncilStatusOpen all year

The English Park (Armenian: Անգլիական այգի, Angliakan aygi) is a public park in Yerevan, Armenia, located on Italy Street. It occupies an area of 5.5 hectares in the central Kentron district of the city, just to the south of the Republic Square.

History

The English Park is one of the oldest parks in the city of Yerevan, dating back to the 1860s. It was frequently renovated until World War I, with a major renovation in 1910.^[1] In 1920, the English Park hosted the first ever football match in the modern history of Armenia, when the teams of Yerevan and Alexandropol met each other.^[2] During the Soviet period the park was renamed after the 26 Baku Commissars. After the independence of Armenia, the original name of the park was restored.

In the early 2000s the park lost much of its territory. A new road, Italy Street, was sliced through its northern side, isolating part of the park from the remainder. Along one side of that new road a series of buildings were constructed on former park land, including the French embassy in Armenia, the Italian embassy in Armenia, and the Best Western Congress Hotel of Yerevan. The isolated part was later redeveloped as Yerevan 2800th Anniversary Park. The Sundukyan Academic Theatre is located on the periphery of the Park.

A monument to Gabriel Sundukyan's fictional character Pepo was erected in the park in 1976.

The central fountains are a popular location for wedding photographs.

Gallery

View from the park
Fountain in the park
Monument in the park
The central fountain

References

^ Parks in Yerevan Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Armenian Encyclopaedia: Football". Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2013-04-23.