Park named after Yuri Gagarin (Simferopol)

The creation of the park was planned in the early 1960s during the construction of residential areas on the right bank of the Salgir River near the railway station. Initially, the project area of ​​the park was 70 hectares ^[3] , at the stage of practical implementation, it was reduced to 50 hectares, but over time it constantly decreased. The last reduction in area occurred in March 2011, when the Simferopol City Council decided to reduce the area of ​​the park to 36.0173 hectares. ^[four]

In 1975, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Great Victory , a solemn reburial of the Unknown Soldier from a solitary grave on Bespalov Street and the opening of the Memorial complex with the Eternal Flame (architect Popov E.V.) lit from torches delivered from the legendary Mithridates mountains took place in the park and Sapun Mountain .

On November 4, 1980, participants of the Friendship train from Hungary laid the Friendship Alley ^[5] .

In 1983, from the street. Tolstoy and Salgira began construction of a sports complex for 4 thousand spectators. By the beginning of the collapse of the USSR, the readiness was at the level of 26%. In 2008, it was decided to demolish the existing buildings, and in the winter of 2012, a shopping and entertainment center with a large ice rink was opened in the park, significantly exceeding the area of ​​the demolished sports complex.

In 1985, the reconstruction of the Memorial complex, which took a modern look ^[6] , was carried out.

On April 26, 2007, on the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl accident , a memorial to the victims of the tragedy was opened in the park. He was consecrated by Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimean Lazarus . The memorial was based on a capsule with the names of 372 dead "Chernobyl victims" of Simferopol ^[7] .

On August 8, 2013, the city hall presented a plan for the reconstruction of the Gagarin park. According to the project, the park will have the second zoo corner for Simferopol, an aquarium or a dolphinarium, a modern attraction zone, a children's entertainment center, new berths for riding a pond on boats and catamarans, three car parks. The authorities promise to leave the island in the center of the pond ^[8] .

As part of the celebration of the 230th anniversary of the founding of Simferopol, on June 8, 2014, the Walk of Fame and the bust of the Hero of the Soviet Union , Army General, Airborne Troops Commander Vasily Margelov , were inaugurated. Opposite the bust of Vasily Margelov, busts were set up for prominent people, including poets Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov , Russian military leaders Alexander Suvorov , Mikhail Kutuzov , Fedor Ushakov ^[9] .

In 2017, under the program “Parks of small towns” of the party “ United Russia ” 45 million rubles were allocated ^{[by whom? ]} for the reconstruction of the park. A shopping, entertainment and office center will be built on the site of the park ^[10] .

The legend of the creation of the park

Among the inhabitants of Simferopol there is a legend about the creation of a park named after Gagarin. Legend has it that the creation of the park Simferopol should be grateful to one senior official from Moscow . He allegedly, traveling on vacation through Simferopol, showed interest in the capital of Crimea . He asked residents to show him the main metropolitan park. At that time in Simferopol the main park of the city was the Trenev park , but the high-ranking guest did not like this park. In order not to hit the face in the mud, Simferopol residents showed a green zone, not far from the railway station, arguing that in fact this is the main park, but it is not yet fully ennobled and not put into use. The official liked the indicated area, and he promised to come to the city to open this park. After his departure, local officials had to create a new park. There are no reliable sources of this story, but Simferopol residents stubbornly continue to pass it on to subsequent generations ^[11] .

Spreading spruce trees grow on the main avenue of the park (the length of their lower branches sometimes reaches 5 m). The alley leads to the Eternal Flame. To the right of the alley is a pine grove. Through the Gagarin Park, the Salgir River flows. It is not deep, but very picturesque with small cascades along its entire length. Along the river runs the promenade. In some places small bridges “run across” the river. In the center of the park are two small artificial lakes. They are not deep and are interconnected by ducts. In the middle of one of the lakes is an island - the nesting place of the wild ducks that live here, visitors can only get there in the winter season when the water in the lake freezes. The flora of the park is represented by various types of trees. Here grows: Crimean pines , birches, poplars, plane trees, blue pines, willows , beeches, acacias, chestnuts and many other trees. One of the main attractions of the park is the sculpture "Three Graces". This building was erected in honor of the Crimean gymnasts. In addition to this sculpture, in the park everywhere you can see other equally interesting and beautiful sculptures ^[5] .

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  The confluence of Salgir and Small Salgir in the park

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  One of the park’s paths at the end of November

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  Gagarin park pond in the fog