Roses Park, Timișoara

Roses Park
Parcul Rozelor
Type	Urban park
Location	Timișoara, Romania
Coordinates	45°45′0″N 21°13′55″E
Area	3.749 ha
Established	1891
Designer	Árpád Mühle
Administered by	Timișoara City Hall
Species	400 varieties of roses[1] (1,200 in total)[2]
Facilities	Open-air theater

Roses Park (Romanian: Parcul Rozelor), previously known as Rosarium or Ștefan Plavăț Park of Culture and Leisure,^[3] is an urban park in Timișoara, located north of the Bega River.^[4]

History

The park was established and opened in 1891 on the occasion of the Agro-Industrial Exhibition in Southern Hungary.^[5] The floral arrangements were made by gardeners Wilhelm Mühle, Franz Niemetz and Benő Agátsy and were also visited by Emperor Franz Joseph. The park bore the emperor's name, but after World War I it was renamed Rosarium.^[3] The landscaping of the park started in 1929 by landscapers Árpád Mühle, Wilhelm Mühle's son, and Mihai Demetrovici, the head of the horticulture service in that period. The plan for the future Roses Park was presented on 13 May 1929, at a national congress of rose growers in Romania.^[6] The plan was drawn up by Árpád Mühle in the English style, with wide alleys, wooden canopies and round flower beds. The park was arranged between 1929–1934, when over 1,200 species and varieties of roses were planted here.^[5] The park, initially with an area of 25,170 m², was maintained until 1938 with the help of the military personnel of the garrison, under the command of Ion Sâmboteanu. After 1938 the park came under the administration of the city.^[5]

Shortly before World War II, the summer theater was built. It was destroyed by bombing in the summer of 1944 and was rebuilt after the war, being intended for outdoor performances.^[3] Later, academician Alexandru Borza, taking refuge in Cluj-Napoca after the Second Vienna Award with the entire Botanical Institute, tried to set up a botanical garden here, but the project could not be realized.^[3]

The last reorganization of the park dates from 2012, when, on an area of over 11,000 m², the municipality planted 9,024 roses, 428 trees and shrubs and also rebuilt 12 pergolas, 77 benches and 12 Roman vases.^[5][7]

Design

The current area of the park is 37,490 m², of which lawn, trees and roses occupy 31,890 m².^[1]

The style in which the park was designed is typical regular, classic, with a predominance of curved lines. The land has a rectangular shape, in which were realized three areas of landscape attraction and two round lawns, with concentric sectors at the ends and a group of parterres with rectangular shapes, equipped with alveoles for placing roses, interspersed with visiting alleys. Overall, it is a mixed style, with a distinct separation between the former rosarium, which retains the regular, classic style and the rest of the park, arranged in an obvious landscape style.^[1]

Festivals

In the park many cultural events are organized nowadays, such as the Festival of Hearts,^[8] the Festival of Ethnic Minorities,^[9] the Festival of Opera and Operetta^[10] and the Festival of Artisanal Gastronomy.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  White pergolas in Roses Park
• 
  The summer theater
• 
  Statues of Wilhelm and Árpád Mühle
• 
  Varieties of red, pink and white roses in Roses Park

References

1. "Parcul Rozelor". Direcția de Mediu a municipiului Timișoara.
2. "TIMIȘOARA - orașul rozelor și parcurilor". Consiliul Județean Timiș. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015.
3. Păun, Liana (11 January 2015). "Parcurile orașului (II). Cum s-a născut orașul florilor și când au apărut locurile de agrement". pressalert.ro.
4. "Cadrul natural și peisagistic al municipiului Timișoara" (PDF). Primăria municipiului Timișoara. 2010. p. 17.
5. Kakucs, Lajos (2015). "De la Fântâna Pașei de pe lângă Mănăstirea Dervișilor până la Parcul Rozelor. Contribuții la istoria parcurilor din Timișoara" (PDF). Analele Banatului, S.N., Arheologie – Istorie. XXIII: 343–384.
6. Both, Ștefan (1 August 2014). "Árpád Mühle, proiectantul Parcului Rozelor din Timișoara, la loc de cinste alături de tatăl său". Adevărul.
7. Deaconescu, Roxana (21 May 2012). "Se redeschide Parcul Rozelor din Timișoara. Vizitatorii primesc lecții de vals, salsa și tango la Sărbătoarea Rozelor". Opinia Timișoarei.
8. Păun, Liana (2 July 2019). "Festivalul Inimilor, la ediția cu numărul 30. Vezi programul complet al evenimentelor". pressalert.ro.
9. Damian, Daniela (3 October 2017). "Festivalul Minorităților Etnice din Timișoara, în weekend, în Parcul Rozelor". Renașterea Bănățeană.
10. Ardelean, Ramona (26 September 2020). "Trei seri de operă și operetă în Parcul Rozelor". Observator de Timiș.
11. "La Pas, primul festival de gastronomie artizanală din Timișoara. Delicii și concerte în Parcul Rozelor". TION. 4 October 2019.