Bastejkalns Park

Coordinates: 56°57′6″N 24°06′40″E / 56.95167°N 24.11111°E / 56.95167; 24.11111
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Bastejkalns Park
Bastejkalns Park
Map
LocationLatvia Riga, Latvia
Coordinates56°57′6″N 24°06′40″E / 56.95167°N 24.11111°E / 56.95167; 24.11111
Created1898 (1898)
StatusAll year

Bastejkalns Park (German: Basteiberg) is a spacious park on the eastern edge of the old town of Latvian capital Riga.

History

Bastion Hill

In 1856, the ramparts of the Riga Fortress [lv] were demolished, replacing the 'Sand Bastion' with the name of Basteiberg (German: Basteiberg) (originally known as Bastion Hill).

In 1879, the Riga Gardens Directorate was established and the 27-year-old

Swans donated by "Riga Bird Breeding Society". In 1883, at the foot of the Bastion Hill, a 23-meter-long wooden bridge was erected over the canal (its curvature was so steep that people slipped out of it in winter and the bridge was ironically called by the Riga inhabitants),[1]
which was replaced in 1893 by masonry. Then a bridge was built to connect the Old Town with what is now Rainis Boulevard (designed in 1898, rebuilt a little later and still in operation).

In 1951, according to the architect Jānis Ginters project, Bastejkalns built support walls, which used parts of the buildings of Riga destroyed by World War II. The Bastion Hill greenery was restored with various sculptures in 1968.[2] The square of this public park was used until 1856 as part of the eastern fortifications and consisted in this area of earthen ramparts, covered trenches, bastions and moats. This fortress section was assigned to the commander of the 'Powder Tower'.

In the following years, the open ground was reshaped by considerable landfills and the city canal [de] and connected to the eastern suburb by new bridges. At the suggestion of the architects Johann Felsko and Otto Dietze, a green area of parks and gardens as well as a broad boulevard were created here. For a large part of the facilities, the landscape architect Georg Kuphaldt was acquired as a planner. A landmark and enrichment of the plant are the 1898 designed as Wasserkunst [de] waterfall. To those the city canal in the area of the park spanning bridges belongs the 1900 built Timmbrücke [de].

The park has been expanded to include more monuments and facilities, including the Freedom Monument and the two memorial stones for the victims of Riga citizens and security forces who died in January 1991 in an OMON deployment. As early as 1929, the construction of the Blaumanis Monument [de] was completed. As part of a reorganization from 1968, the sculpture Peace Dance [de] was erected in 1970. In 2006, Elizabeth II and Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga unveiled monument to Riga Mayor [de] George Armitstead. In 2007, the unveiling of the Vīgners Monument [de] took place.

Flora

In total, 110 (as of 1988) of exotic trees and shrubs and 19 native species, such as

field maple ( Acer campestre
),
Red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima), Hawthorn ( Crataegus punctata
),
common yew ( Taxus baccata
), etc.

There are also some rarities here, such as Ginkgo biloba. North American ragweed was planted by Georg Kuphaldt in the 1900s. In spring, across the channel from Latvian National Opera, white magnolias (Magnolia denudata) are shining in the University of Latvia botanical garden,[3] since it been planted in the 20th century. Since the 1970s, there is also a Forsythia × intermedia or Forsythia mandschurica from China with bright yellow flowers.

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Second Gabre. Riga parks hide treasures and stories. // Riga Voice. August 12, 2004
  2. ISBN 978-9984-798-39-4
  3. ^ The Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Basteiberg.
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