The English Park (, ''Angliakan aygi'') is a public park in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
,
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
, located on Italy Street. It occupies an area of 5.5 hectares in the central
Kentron district
Kentron (), is one of the Districts of Yerevan, 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It comprises the downtown, the commercial centre of the city. As of the 2022 census, the district has a population of 119,841.
Kentron is bordered by ...
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
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, with a major renovation in 1910. In 1920, the English Park hosted the first ever football match in the modern history of Armenia, when the teams of Yerevan and
Alexandropol
Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...
met each other.
During the Soviet period the park was renamed after the
26 Baku Commissars
The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left SR, Left Socialist Revolutionary (SR) members of the Baku Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku, which was then the capital of the briefly independent Azerbaijan Democratic Repub ...
. 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
Gabriel Sundukian ( (reformed), ( classical); 11 July 1825 – 29 March 1912) was an Armenian writer and playwright, the founder of modern Armenian drama. 's fictional character
Pepo was erected in the park in 1976.
The central fountains are a popular location for wedding photographs.
Gallery
File:Armenia - Wedding (5034680108).jpg, View from the park
File:Fountain English Park Yerevan.jpg, Fountain in the park
File:Armenia - Relief (5034693444).jpg, Monument in the park
File:Armenia - Fountain (5034065711).jpg, The central fountain
References
{{Yerevan landmarks
Parks in Yerevan
Urban public parks