Philharmonic Fountain Park

About Philharmonic Fountain Park

Park in Baku, Azerbaijan

The Philharmonic Garden (Filarmoniya Bağı), also known as the Governor's Park (Gubernator Bağı), is the oldest and loveliest park in Baku, lying against the walls of the Old City beside the Philharmonic Hall from which it takes its name. Its creation began in 1830, with a charming story attached: ships' captains arriving from Iran were asked to bring a sack of fertile soil each to cover the rocky ground. The park was extended in the 1860s and 1870s to 4.6 hectares and was first called Mikhaelovsky Garden after the governor of the day. In the early 20th century there were plans to build a concert hall in the middle of the park, but the felling of trees this required led to objections, so a summer pavilion was built instead and the Philharmonic Hall rose at the park's edge. The park was renovated in the 1970s and comprehensively again from 2007 on the orders of President Ilham Aliyev, when an old-fashioned fountain designed by the French company Inter Art was added; the "Khan's Plane" tree here is one of the oldest in Baku. Wikivoyage describes it as a charming park of fountains and kiosks that visitors pass through on the way from the metro to the Boulevard, a shady pause between the Old City and the seafront.

Where:

Baku, Azerbaijan