Yuzhny Park (German name Südpark) is one of the parks of Kaliningrad, located along Kalinin Avenue, near the Southern Railway Station.
The Southern Park was designed by landscape architect Ernest Schneider and opened in Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad) in 1927 next to the former fortifications, on the site of a landscape park created on December 9, 1841.
In 1938, the party was renamed the park of Horst Wessel, a SA Sturmfuhrer and poet who died as a result of an assassination attempt by an activist of the Communist Party of Germany.
After the end of World War II, the park was informally called Matrossky, and in 1957-2008 it was called the Park of Culture and Recreation named after the 40th anniversary of the Komsomol, the official name of the park is South Park.
The area of the park reaches 60 hectares. The park is an object of cultural heritage of regional significance and is subject to state protection.
South Park is a green area of irregular rectangular shape, bounded by Zheleznodorozhnaya Street (from the south), Kievskaya Street and Kalinin Square (from the west), Kalinin Avenue (from the north), Dzerzhinsky Street and the Alley of the Bold (from the east).
The park has alleys and paths for walking, there are artificial reservoirs (ponds) connected by a single water exchange system with the Pregoley River.
In Yuzhny Park there are:
- miniature park "History in Architecture", where models of the main architectural masterpieces of "big" Russia, made in miniature, are presented. In addition to the expositions, there is a walking area and recreation areas, a swing, a gazebo, benches, a summer cafe and a children's playground on the territory of the miniature park;
- Oktyabrskaya Street is the main alley of the park, along which there are places for recreation, cafes and a playground;
- memorial sign "Russians in East Prussia" established on June 15, 2017, with the participation of the regional branch of the Russian Military Historical Society in the Kaliningrad region.
At this place on June 14-15 (June 2-3, old style) in 1807, the detachment of General N.M. Kamensky, together with the Prussians, repelled French attacks on the southern suburb of Konigsberg;
- a memorial sign to the crew of the IL-2 attack aircraft of the 74th Guards Assault Aviation regiment who died during the assault on Konigsberg;
- a memorial sign erected in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory;
- monument to the history of municipal significance - a memorial sign to the heroes of the Komsomol who died during the storming of Konigsberg (architect A.N. Konstantinov) 1988;
- sports and children's playgrounds;
At the intersection of Kalinin Avenue and Dzerzhinsky Street, the Friedland Gate, one of the seven preserved city gates of Kaliningrad, adjoins the Southern Park.
Previously, the Friedland Gate was part of the fortifications of Konigsberg, which were part of the Second Defensive Belt.
Currently, the museum complex "Friedland Gate" is located within the walls of the Friedland Gate. More about the Friedland Gate Museum in Kaliningrad...
Two historical monuments adjoin the Southern Park from Kalinin Avenue:
- Friedland Ravelin (Kalinin Avenue, 4), built in the middle of the 19th century by Ernst Ludwig von Aster. Now an architectural monument of regional significance, consisting of a reduit, a caponier and two half-caponiers. There are retail outlets on the territory of the ravelin. The Ravelin got its name because of its proximity to the Friedland Gate;
- ravelin "Haberberg" (Kalinin Avenue, 2), connected by a bulk shaft with the Friedland ravelin. It was built in the 19th century by Ernst Ludwig von Aster. Now it consists of a reduit, a caponier and two half-caponiers, it is an architectural monument of regional significance. Ravelin got its name from the once adjacent urban area of the same name Konigsberg.
On the opposite side of Kalinin Avenue from Yuzhny Park are:
- monument of history of municipal significance - memorial sign of Soviet-Polish friendship (architect E.A. Popov) 1977, subject to state protection;
- historical monument of the Church of the Holy Family (Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street, 63a). The German Catholic Church of the Holy Family (Kirche "zur Heiligen Famile") was erected in Konigsberg on Oberhaberberg in 1904-1907 by architect Friedrich Heitmann.
Now the concert hall of the Kaliningrad Regional Philharmonic named after E.F. Svetlanov is located in the walls of the church.
