Güvenpark

About Güvenpark

Güvenpark, "Trust Park", is the green square on the south side of Kızılay Meydanı in central Ankara. It is bounded by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bulvarı to the north, Atatürk Bulvarı to the east and Milli Müdafaa Caddesi to the west, with the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of National Education buildings beyond its southern edge. Turkish Wikipedia describes it as the first park of the Republican era in the city. The park belongs to Hermann Jansen's 1929 plan for the new capital, which set aside green belts and open spaces for a healthier city, and it was laid out in the 1930s. Road widening in the 1950s and bus and dolmuş stops from the mid-1970s took over parts of its area. Today it covers about 2.5 hectares, roughly a trapezoid running north to south, with mature trees, benches, pools and a children's playground. Çankaya Municipality has registered it as a first-degree natural protected area. The park takes its name from the Güven Anıtı (Security Monument) facing Kızılay Square. Proposed by the Austrian architect Clemens Holzmeister, it was created by the sculptor Anton Hanak and completed in 1935 by Josef Thorak after Hanak's death. Bronze figures stand above Atatürk's words "Türk, Öğün, Çalış, Güven", with reliefs on Mamak stone showing villagers, soldiers, craftsmen and thinkers of the new Republic. Kızılay metro station, served by the Ankaray and the M1 and M2 lines, is next to the park, so it is a common passage and lunchtime stop for people working nearby.