- Gorky Park (Moscow)
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Gorky Park 
Gorky Park Roller Coaster Location Moscow, Russia Website Gorky Park Opened 1928 Area 300 acres (120 ha) Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure (Russian: "Центральный парк культуры и отдыха (ЦПКиО) имени Горького") is an amusement park in Moscow, named after Maxim Gorky.
Contents
History
Gorky Park was opened in 1928 and is located at Krymsky Val and situated just across the Moskva River from Park Kultury Metro Station. The Park was planned by Konstantin Melnikov, a world-famous soviet avant-garde and constructivist architect. Gorky Park was created by the amalgamation of the extensive gardens of the old Golitsyn Hospital and the Neskuchny Palace and covers an area of 300 acres (120 ha) along the river.[1]
Facilities
Gorky Park has children’s play areas, fun fairs, various amusement rides, an enormous Ferris wheel (2010-note: the wheel has been removed from Gorky Park) and one of the mockups (test units) from the Buran space shuttle program, which allows children to take part in "the Cosmic Experience". During the winter the footpaths flood over and freeze, which allows ice-skating around the park.[1]
Alpine Slide, Virtual Capsule, Bumper Boats, Batman, Rabid Mill, Big Ben, Break Dance, Buran, Waltz, The Playground, Eurostar, Karting, Carpet Plane, Condor, Dream Ship, Laser Shooting Q-ZAR, Music Express, Niagara, Orbit, Brave Captain, Cave Horror, Trip to Africa, Winning Games, Rally, Silver Mine, Serpentine, Fairy Tale Train, Speedway, Super Bowl, Tire, Fantastic Voyage, Fly Machine, Chain Carousel and the Black Hole.[2]
Currently the park is undergoing a major reconstruction. All amusement rides have been removed. Plan is to make it a friendly hip recreational zone.[3]
Arctic motifs
Amusement rides and the Buran space shuttle test vehicle.
An installation of the annual ice-sculpture competition.In popular culture
- The park was written of in the novel Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. It was later made into a film with the same name.
- The German Hard Rock band Scorpions achieved great success with their popular single, "Wind of Change", which references Gorky Park[4] in light of the sociopolitical changes taking place in a post-Cold War era in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s.
- A Russian rock and roll band Gorky Park is named after the park.
- Gorky Park is mentioned in the song "Vodka"[5] by Morena, which represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
- In the First-Person Multiplayer Shooter video game, Team Fortress 2, Gorky Park is referenced in the title of one of the game achievements pertaining to the 'Heavy' class.
- In the British show IT Crowd Gorky Park is mentioned as a typical soviet-like place where everyone has to smoke now because of the strict anti-smoking policies: I remember when smoking was fun, all the cool kids were doing it, now when I want a cigarette I have to go to Gorky Park!
References
- ^ a b Gorky Park in Moscow, Russia Retrieved on 2009-09-27.
- ^ Official Gorky Park website translated with Google Translate Retrieved on 2009-09-27.
- ^ Abramovich brings Midas touch to Gorky Park Retrieved on 2011-09-19
- ^ Scorpions - Wind Of Change Retrieved on 2009-09-27.
- ^ Eurovision 2008 - Malta (Vodka) By Morena Retrieved on 2009-09-27.
External links
- Official Gorky Park website
- Official Gorky Park website translated with Google Translate
- A photo gallery
Coordinates: 55°43′53″N 37°36′14″E / 55.73139°N 37.60389°E
For other uses, see Gorky Park (disambiguation).Categories:- Parks and gardens in Moscow
- Amusement parks in Russia
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