Currently, there are a huge number of parks. Every city, and often a village, has one. What is the name of the park and which ones are the most interesting?
What is a park?
Park is a natural or artificial usually landscaped area created for recreation. But such a meager definition does not reveal the whole essence of this concept.
Park is an art. Even in ancient times, its design could take years, and hundreds of people were involved in the work. Little has changed over the centuries. Only now there are many varieties of parks. From each other they differ in shape, size, plantings. In addition, there are city, manor, landscape parks, amusement parks occupy a separate niche, in which not plants, but attractions are more important.
The word itself means "enclosed place". In the traditional sense, a park is a site planted with shrubs and trees, flower beds and lawns, which are complemented by such attributes as alleys, benches, terraces, viewing platforms, gazebos, ponds, fountains, etc. They can be French in style. or, for example, English. A separate classification is made up of territories where the main task isconservation and study of nature, rather than creating a place for recreation. This includes botanical, zoological, national parks.
History of occurrence
The idea to create compositions from natural materials appeared in Ancient China. In ancient Greece, there was a tradition to plant trees along pedestrian roads; in Persia, park art was considered a sacred occupation. One of the first parks in the world for which planning was used is the Egyptian Gardens of Babylon. From Egypt, the idea of garden parks came to Arab Spain, then to Catholic Spain, then to the rest of Europe.
Until the 18th century, parks were called gardens. In Europe, they appeared in the Middle Ages and at first were created only on the territory of monasteries. During the Renaissance, they gain popularity in Italy. Then, following the Ancient Greece, sculptures and colonnades were placed in the gardens. Parks became widespread in the Baroque era, real gardening professionals appeared among the designers.
The best parks in the world
Schönbrunn in Austria, Get-Loo in the Netherlands and Vaux-le-Vicomte in France are considered exemplary for Europe. They appeared in the 17th century and are part of the palace and park ensemble. The grounds are full of fountains and sculptures, and flowerbeds and shrubs form intricate patterns.
Tokyo's Ueno Park has become world famous. In spring, a myriad of Japanese cherries bloom here. Gaudí Park in Barcelona is an example of the combination of architectural forms and green spaces. ATin this place fantasy breaks into reality with bizarre houses, caves and salamanders.
Alupka Park in Crimea, created on the initiative of Count Vorontsov, is no less impressive than European ones. It contains several lakes, many fountains and springs, as well as hundreds of exotic plants that were brought from all over the world. Vorontsovsky Park is a great example of a landscape park where nature becomes one with human creation.
