Hyde Park, the largest of London's royal gardens, spreads over 142 hectares between Park Lane and Lake Serpentine, separating it from Kensington Gardens. Kings have entertained here, labourers have rioted, national celebrations have taken place, and the Crystal Palace, built for the 1851 World's Fair, has stood here.
For the whole world, the name of the park is a symbol of freedom of speech because of the Speakers' Corner, where, since 1872, anyone can speak publicly on any topic. But this is only part of the park, mostly filled with lawns and trees. Londoners play tennis and football here, do taichi, and have picnics.
It would have been hard to imagine this peaceful life of Hyde Park in 1536, when Henry VIII was noisily chasing deer and wild boars here. The King had confiscated this area from Westminster Abbey precisely for his hunting ground. The character of the park was completely changed by Charles I, who opened access to the public in 1637. This helped the townspeople in 1665 - the plague hit London and many fled to Hyde Park in the hope of escaping the threat.
When William III moved his court to Kensington Palace in 1689, he found that travelling from there to Westminster was unsafe. 300 oil lamps were installed all along the route - thus creating the country's first illuminated road. Known as Rotten Row (from the French route du roi - "royal road"), this gravel-covered straight, wide carriageway still exists on the south side of Hyde Park and is still used for riding and jogging.
In 1728, Queen Caroline, wife of George II, separated the park from Kensington Gardens with artificial lakes, Long Water and Serpentine. Nowadays, Serpentine attracts many visitors - here you can swim in a fenced-off pool, go boating, admire tufted grebes, black swans or Nile geese. Knowledgeable people come to the bridge at dusk to watch bats catching insects.
The major changes took place in Hyde Park in 1820, under George IV. The famous architect Decimus Burton marked the main entrance to the park (in the south-east corner) with a monumental gate, replaced the walls with a light fence, and laid new paths and driveways. The park now largely has the appearance in which Burton left it.
The exception is the monuments. There are the old ones from back in the day - the grand statue of Achilles (a monument to the Duke of Wellington), the Artemis fountains and the "Boy and Dolphin" in the rose garden. Newer ones include the impressive 'Animals at War' memorial; a memorial to the victims of the 2005 terrorist attack; and the black and white mosaic 'Reformers' Tree', a reminder of the Reform League rallies held here. On the southern shore of the lake there is an unusual fountain in memory of Princess Diana - a looped stream flowing in granite banks. The original statue "Tranquil Water" near the Marble Arch is a huge head of a drinking horse. And the monument to Genghis Khan by Russian sculptor Dashi Namdakov looks quite unexpected next to it.
