Grand Park of Tirana

Coordinates: 41°18′46″N 19°49′20″E / 41.31278°N 19.82222°E / 41.31278; 19.82222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Artificial Lake Of Tirana
Tirana as seen from the south.
LocationTirana, Tirana County, Albania
Coordinates41°18′46″N 19°49′20″E / 41.31278°N 19.82222°E / 41.31278; 19.82222
Area289 ha (710 acres)[1]
Map

The Grand Park of Tirana (Albanian: Parku i Madh i Tiranës), or the Park on the Artificial Lake, is a 289 hectare public park situated on the southern part of Tirana, Albania, and administered by the Agency of Parks and Recreation of the Municipality of Tirana.

The Park includes an

Botanical Garden
. The latter includes many flowers and plants that are common to the Albanian environment.

There are almost 120 species of trees, bushes and flowers. The Botanical Garden area is of 14.5 hectares and the lake's size is of 55 hectares, whereas the area of the Park itself is of 230 hectares.[2]

The Park was built between 1955 and 1956 based on a Bulgarian plan and used to be called the Gogo stable, in a green area. The Park starts at the southern end of the

memorials of 45 British and Australian[3] soldiers fallen during World War II
, as well as a memorial of hundreds of German soldiers from the same war.

Setting and contents

View of the Lake
Monument of the Frashëri Brothers
British and Australian WWII memorial

The Park includes the

King of Albania. The Palace had also served vicegerent Francesco Jacomoni and later the Fascist general Alberto Pariani.[4] Now it is the official residence of the President of Albania
.

The Park was also home of the memorial to the mother of

Sadijé Toptani. The monument was destroyed by the communist regime in the 1950s and can now be enjoyed only in pictures.[2]
A wall has been built demarcating the park's boundary.

The Park is otherwise called the "Lung of the City" due to the diversity of plants. It also includes

Zoo and also a complex of swimming pools.[5] In addition the Park has an amphitheatre, where various cultural activities occur especially in summer months.[5]
The artificial lake is a well known fishing and also swimming area. The lake was built from local waters in 1955 on volunteer work to build a 400 metres long dam that holds the waters from overflowing onto Tirana.[5]

It also notably includes the

Faik Konitza, former Minister of Albania to Washington, and publisher of the Albania magazine were brought from the United States and put in a tomb located at the park.[5]

In 2020, Albania unveiled a

Nazis, with an inscription written in English, Hebrew, and Albanian that says “Albanians, Christians and Muslims endangered their lives to protect and save the Jews.”[6]

Rehabilitation and controversy

Children's playground

The Park has suffered extensively from problems of litter and pollutants and crime has also been reported in the area.[7] In 2005, the Municipality organized the 'Green Fair', where major ideas were collected as how to fully rehabilitate the Park.[8]

In 2008, a lakeside competition was held to come up with the best urban and ecologic masterplan for the future of the district, to create a new dense urban neighborhood with a park and public facilities at the shore of Lake. The masterplan consists of 225,000 square metres of housing, 60,000 square metres offices, 20,000 square metres public buildings, 60,000 square metres retail, 15,000 square metres of hotels and 20,000 square metres sport and recreational facilities and a car park. The redesign was scheduled to take place in 2010 with a total estimated investment of 600 million euros.[9]

The entrance

The major constructions will reduce the size of the green area of the park, which has led to much controversy in the Albanian media as to the actual benefits to the citizens of Tirana.[2]

The Botanical Gardens are set to be destroyed to build the new Tirana ring motorway.[10]

In 2015, a competition was held to design the Park's entrance. It sparked great controversy because the original competition brief threatened the integrity of the park, a cherished public space in Tirana, with important construction requirements. A team of architects composed of three offices (BuildingBuilding, Elias Guenoun Architect and UHO) won the competition with a proposal consisting of less built elements and a strict limit between the park and city. This is currently in its study phase.[11]

References

  1. ^ "LINJAT BAZË PËR MBROJTJEN DHE ZHVILLIMIN E PARKUT TIRANË" (PDF). akm.gov.al (in Albanian). Tirana. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  2. ^ a b c Koha Jonë. "The "Lung" of Tirana toward its cementification". Koha Jonë (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Search - The Australian War Memorial". www.awm.gov.au. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  4. ^ Shekulli Magazine. "The Palace of the Brigades". Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  5. ^ a b c d Gottschling, Anila. "What to visit in Tirana" (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  6. ^ Semini, Llazar. "Albania, only country with more Jews after the Holocaust, inaugurates memorial". www.timesofisrael.com.
  7. ISBN 1-85043-859-5
    .
  8. ^ Tirana Municipality (2005-10-15). "The Green Fair, exposure of the strategy to rehabilitate the Park of the Artificial Lake" (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  9. ^ "Tirana Rocks. Tirana Architecture Competition : Albanian Buildings". E Architect. September 3, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  10. ^ Tirana Botanical Garden threatened by ring road, retrieved 2016-01-02
  11. ^ "First Place – Thomas Reynaud/ BuildingBuilding | COMPETITIONS". Archived from the original on 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2016-11-15.

External links

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