Currently, there are a huge number of parks. Every city, and often a village, has one. What is called a park and which of them are the most interesting?
What is a park?
A 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, it could take years to complete it, and hundreds of people were involved in the work. Centuries later, little has changed. 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 attractions are not the most important.
The word itself means "a fenced place." In the traditional sense, a park is a site planted with shrubs and trees, flower beds and lawns, which are complemented by attributes such as alleys, benches, terraces, viewing platforms, gazebos, ponds, fountains, etc. By style, they can be French or, for example, English. A separate classification is made up of territories where the main task is to preserve and study 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 of planting trees along pedestrian roads; in Persia, park art was considered a sacred occupation. One of the first parks in the world for which the layout was used are the Egyptian Gardens of Babylon. From Egypt, the idea of park gardens came to Arab Spain, then to Catholic, 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. In the Renaissance, they are gaining popularity in Italy. Then, following Ancient Greece, sculptures and colonnades were placed in the gardens. Parks are widespread in the Baroque era, real gardening professionals appear among designers.
The best parks in the world
Schönbrunn Park in Austria, Get-Loo in the Netherlands and Vo-le-Viscount in France are considered exemplary in Europe. They appeared in the XVII century and are part of the palace and park ensemble. There are many fountains and sculptures in the territories, and flower beds and shrubs form tangled patterns.
World fame gained Tokyo Ueno Park. In the spring, a myriad of Japanese cherries blooms here. Gaudi Park in Barcelona is an example of a combination of architectural forms and green spaces. At this point, fantasy breaks into reality with bizarre houses, caves and salamanders.
The Alupka Park in Crimea, created on the initiative of Count Vorontsov, is no less impressive than European. It contains several lakes, many fountains and springs, as well as hundreds of exotic plants that have been brought from all over the world. Vorontsov Park is a magnificent example of a landscape park where nature becomes one with the creation of man.