Memorial Park Evolution

This article chronologically presents the genesis of memorial parks in the European civilization. It demonstrates the transformation of sacred landscape architecture into ritual facilities using the synthetic semantic of architecture and monumental art (cenotaphs, garden sculpture, fountains). Memorial parks became a means of identifying specific places and events in space, thus preserving the memories of certain times. The location of memorial parks within cities turned them into one of the key city-forming elements of the urban environment. Being an integral part of community lives, gardens and parks appeared pursuant to both the material and spiritual needs of people and became one of the attributes of civilization. The analysis of planning and dimensional-spatial methods in park construction helped classify them into types and identify their city-forming role from ancient times up to nowadays. Also, the authors could expose the memorial park transformation and adaptation processes depending on the changes to the social and economic formations. The symbol is always more important than a genuine person or thing. M. Pasturo.