Landscaping of green areas in the urban layout of midtown Lublin

Abstract

Today’s Lublin midtown has been shaped through both spontaneous and planned change. The oldest existing form of green landscaping in midtown Lublin are its convent gardens. Most of them have not retained their former character which was influenced by both changes in ownership and functionality. Planned green area landscaping as an element of urban composition appeared in Lublin for the first time at the beginning of the 19th century. It was then that the streamlined squares, markets and streets (Plac Musztry, Krakowskie Przedmieście, church squares) as well as the newly mapped out road and rail links gained a frame in the form of trees and shrubbery. A number of trees planted in the 19th century are still around to this day, forming a valued element of the city’s cultural and natural landscape. Soon after, the first city public parks appeared (Park na Czechówce, Ogród Miejski and Park Bronowicki). The historic cemeteries (at Lipowa St., the cemetery by the Evangelical church) are a very specific variant of urban green landscape in today’s midtown. This article shows kinds of planned green area urban landscaping characteristic to midtown Lublin, based on the archival source materials, project studies, literature and iconography. The transformations of forms and functionalities of the indicated areas have been studied in the period from their foundation to date. Lublin midtown’s most vital public space – Plac Litewski – was the subject of detailed analysis.