Yerevan Victory Park is located on the upper plateau of the Kanaker Hills, in the northern part of the Old City of Yerevan. In Armenian, it is called Akhtanak Park, although for a long time it was called "Monument". In the early 1950s, one of the largest monuments to Joseph Stalin was built here.
From the top of the Kanaker Hills there is a beautiful view of Yerevan and Mount Ararat towering above it. In the 1920s, architect Alexander Tamayan prepared a master plan of Yerevan, which formed the modern look of the capital of Armenia. He designed the Cascade architectural complex. It is possible to climb from the city center up the hill to the park, however, the construction of the Cascade has been postponed for a long time. The cascade was built only in 2002.
Next to the upper terrace of the Cascade is the stele of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, and near it is the entrance to the Victory Park of Yerevan. The construction of the park began in the 1930s. At first it was called Arabkire City Park, but after the WWII it was renamed Victory Park. In 1950, a giant monument to Joseph Stalin was erected in the center of the park. The height of the sculpture reached 17 meters, and the total height with the pedestal was 50 meters.
After Stalin`s death in 1953, the sculpture was removed and until 1962 there was an empty pedestal here. There is a Victory Museum inside the pedestal, so the city authorities did not dare to demolish the monument completely. Later, a monument to Mother Armenia was erected on this pedestal. The height of the sculpture is 22 meters, so now the total height of the monument in Victory Park reaches 54 meters. In front of the monument on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, the eternal flame burns.
On the eastern side of the park, from the entrance to the monument, stretches the Alley of Heroes. Soldiers from Armenia who died during the WWII, as well as during the wars in Nagorno-Karabakh, are buried here. There is a museum of military equipment nearby.
In 1958, a pond in the shape of Lake Sevan was dug in Yerevan`s Victory Park. Previously, it was possible to swim there, but now there is only boat and catamaran rental. There is a children`s amusement park around the pond. From the Ferris wheel you can see the whole center of Yerevan. Alas, almost the entire territory of Victory Park needs reconstruction.
