Timişoara to have largest park in Romania
Timişoara will have the largest park in Romania after the government approved its plans to transform over 500 hectares of forest.
The Romanian government agreed to transfer the management of nearly 520 hectares of forest to the city back in 2020. Timişoara had only 50 hectares of forests prior to the transfer. The City Hall was then forced to quickly develop a plan and have it approved by the Environment Ministry, as a long delay would have given reason to the government to take back possession of the land.
Pădurea Verde (Green Forest), as the area is called, will become a forest/park, and some of the layout will be changed accordingly. The transformation, however, will take place without having any trees cut down.
The local authorities will now draw up plans establishing the exact details of the makeover.
“We’ll do minimal interventions and won’t be impacting the forest. Routes will be based on existing forest paths and will be properly marked so that cyclists and pedestrians will be able to use them. We are also planning [to construct] facilities for education and recreation. Structures and platforms will be wood or metal, prefabricated, and assembled on-site for minimal impact,” said Timişoara mayor Dominic Fritz, cited by Adevarul.
The Green Forest is what remains of a large green area that once stretched between Timişoara and Arad. The forest is over 700 hectares in size in total, bordering several villages aside from the city. Locals use it for jogging, cycling, or picnics.
At the edge of the forest are the Timişoara Zoo, the Banat Village Museum, and a monument erected in memory of the anti-communist partisans who were executed there in 1949. There is also a 2.6 km stream that feeds into Dumbrăviţa lake.
(Photo source: Facebook/Dominic Fritz)
