Riviera Park is the main resort attraction of the Central district of Sochi. It was created in 1898 by merchant Vasily Khludov in the historical center of the city. From the north, the park is bounded by the Sochi riverbed, and from the south by the Black Sea coast. The best Beach in the city center is also located here.
Riviera Park is connected to the central districts of the city, where most of the hotels are located, by a bridge over the Sochi River. This bridge was built in 1936, when the implementation of Stalin`s program for the reconstruction of Sochi began. From here begins Resort Avenue, which stretches for 10 kilometers to Stalin`s Summer Cottage in Matsesta and Mount Akhun.
History of the Riviera Park
Riviera Park before the revolution of 1917 was already the best arboretum garden in the center of Sochi. Then it was called Khludovsky Park, its area was 12 hectares. Valuable species of trees and plants of subtropical climate and mountainous regions of the Caucasus were planted here. During the Civil War, the park was badly damaged, but in the 1930s it began to be restored. In 1937, the park was named "Riviera".
Near the entrance to the Riviera Park there is a Memorial complex "Feat in the name of life". It is dedicated to the doctors of the city of Sochi, who during the Great Patriotic War cured more than half a million people in numerous hospitals of the city.
Nearby you can walk along the Cosmonauts Alley. Since the 1960s, all cosmonauts who came to Sochi came to the Riviera Park to plant a magnolia tree. The first magnolia tree on the alley was planted by the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, on May 15, 1961. Alas, this tree has not been preserved. Since then, dozens of cosmonauts have come to Riviera Park and they have all planted magnolias.
Over time, the tradition of planting magnolias by cosmonauts has acquired a large scale. Trees were planted not only by Soviet cosmonauts, but also by American astronauts, as well as political figures. Cosmonauts Alley has become part of the "Friendship Glade", where several alleys are planted with magnolias. In total, more than 60 magnolias have been planted in the Riviera Park.
Attractions of the Riviera Park
Nowadays, the Riviera Park has become not only an arboretum garden with exotic trees. It combines a recreation park with attractions for children, as well as a rest area that borders the Riviera Beach, where people can relax in the shade of trees after swimming in the sea and sunbathing in the sun.
In 2022, a pedestrian bridge was built that connected the Marine Terminal with the Riviera Beach. Thus, now you can easily walk from the Sochi Embankment to the Riviera Beach without entering the Resort Avenue Bridge. This has made the resort infrastructure of the center of Sochi even more convenient and comfortable for recreation.
In the Riviera Park, you can see Khludov`s Estate. It is a house in the Old Russian style. The original house of Merchant Khludov was built in 1896. After Khludov sold the park to the treasury and left Sochi, this house often changed owners. Until the 1980s, there was a polyclinic here, but the building was recognized as an emergency and closed. Since then, only ruins have remained of the house.
In 2008, it was decided to reconstruct Khludov`s House, but it turned out to be impossible. As a result, the ruins were demolished, and a new mansion was erected on this site. Khludov`s original house in the Riviera Park combined features of the Old Russian terem style and Art Nouveau. In the new mansion, the architecture of the Old Russian terem prevails.
There is a beautiful rose garden in the Riviera Park, where dozens of types of roses are planted. In addition to the Alley of Cosmonauts, there was an Alley of Writers. It has busts of 21 Russian writers. There is a Dolphinarium in the center of the Riviera Park. In summer, performances are held here daily. There are many art installations throughout the park.
