| Copou Gardens | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Copou Park (circa 1900) | |
 | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Iași |
| Coordinates | 47°10′43″N 27°34′02″E / 47.178678°N 27.56716°E |
| Area | 10 ha (25 acres) |
| Created | 1834 |
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The Copou Park or Copou Gardens is the oldest public park in Iași, Romania. Its development started in 1834 under the reign of Mihail Sturdza, making the park one of the first public gardens in Romania and a Iași landmark. In its centre lies the Lions' Obelisk (1834), a 13.5 m (44 ft) tall obelisk dedicated to Regulamentul Organic, the first law on political, administrative and juridical organization in the Romanian Principalities.[1]
Other landmarks include Eminescu's Linden Tree, the Mihai Eminescu Museum and the Junimea Alley. The gardens are a popular destination for tourists and locals, as well as a favourite location for poetry festivals, photography exhibitions and art and craft fairs.
The park covers approximately 10 hectares (down from 19 hectares at the height of its late-19th century development) and has been described as one of the most beautiful public gardens in Moldavia.[2][3]
- ^ N.A. Bogdan - Orașul Iași, monografie istorică și socială, ilustrată (Ed. Tehnopress, 2004), p. 330
- ^ Ionel Lupu. Parcul Copou: Studiu Dendrologic. Cu note consultative privitoare la proiectul edilitar de "Reabilitare și Restaurare a Grădinii Copou din Municipiul Iași". Septembrie-noiembrie 2014. Manuscris disponibil in Arhivele Asociației Dendro-Ornamentale "Anastasie Fătu" Iași, p. 1.
- ^ Ciubotaru, M. Grădinile publice din Iași în secolul al XIX-lea. Grădina Publică din Copou. Colecția Monumentul XVI. Muzeul Național Moldova / Ministerul Culturii. Editura Palatul Culturii, 2015, pp. 400-402.