Description of the attraction
Stephen the Great Park is one of the oldest and most beautiful parks in Chisinau. Located in the very center of the Moldovan capital, it has been considered a favorite vacation spot for most local residents for almost two centuries. In Soviet times, this park was named after A. S. Pushkin, who once loved to relax here. And after the collapse of the USSR and Moldova's independence, it was named after the most revered Moldovan ruler Stephen the Great (Stefan cel Mare).
The foundation of the new park took place in 1818 with the active assistance of the wife of the governor of Bessarabia A. Bakhmetyev, at a place chosen personally by the Russian emperor Alexander I. 4 thousand seedlings of various plants, including exotic ones, were planted here. In the late 1860s. the park was surrounded by an elegant cast-iron fence, which has been well preserved to this day. In 1885, a monument to Alexander Pushkin was unveiled with funds donated by the townspeople.
One of the symbols of the Moldavian republic is the monument to Lord Stefan cel Maare, installed in 1928 at the entrance to the park, during whose reign the country reached its highest development.
In 1958, the Alley of the classics of Moldovan literature, consisting of 12 busts, was opened in Pushkin Park. Since independence, it has been supplemented with 13 more busts of famous figures of Moldovan culture and sculptures of Romanian poets and writers.
The park, covering an area of about 7 hectares, has 7 entrances. At different times there were pools with fountains, various monuments and sculptures, a city Hall of Fame and a children's cafe. Nowadays, more than 50 species of trees and shrubs grow in the park, among which are rare Pissard plums, Chinese wisteria, Canadian cooper and many others. Several trees are already about 160 years old.
The modern park of Stephen the Great is widely used as a venue for all kinds of festivals and celebrations.
