National Garden of Nishapur
باغ ملی نیشابور
The northern entrance of the garden in November 2021
Interactive map of the National Garden of Nishapur area
General information
Status	Open to the public
Type	Garden and urban park
Architectural style	Iranian architecture
Location	Nishapur, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran
Coordinates	36°12′29″N 58°47′24″E / 36.208°N 58.790°E / 36.208; 58.790

The National Garden of Nishapur (Persian: باغ ملی نیشابور, romanized: Bāgh-e Mellī-ye Neyshābur, lit. 'National Garden of Nishapur'), locally also called Baghmelli, is a historic public urban park in central Nishapur, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran. Its northern entrance is marked by a pair of decorated brick columns created by traditional brickwork artisan Mohammad Qasem Akhavian [fa]. The columns, rather than the garden as a whole, are included in the Iran National Heritage List.^[1]

Setting

The garden is bounded by Imam Khomeini Street to the north, Dr Shariati Street to the west, 22 Bahman Hospital to the east, and a mixed residential and commercial area to the south. Its two principal entrances are on Imam Khomeini and Dr Shariati streets.^[2]

The offices of the Nishapur City Council are situated at the southern end of the garden.^[3] A local centre of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults is also located there.^[4]

Northern entrance

The northern entrance comprises two brick-clad columns, each approximately 6 m (20 ft) high and positioned about 10 m (33 ft) apart. Their ornamentation uses several patterns of carved brickwork, while their structures also incorporate stone, reinforced concrete, cement, plaster, and iron.^[2]

The columns were designed and constructed in the early 1980s by Akhavian, a Nishapur artisan specialising in traditional brick cutting.^[2][5]

The entrance columns were added to Iran's national heritage register on 16 August 2005 under registration number 13364.^[1]

References