Moscow to create Europe’s longest urban park

The Russian capital is set to create the longest urban park in Europe, Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said.

Work on creating the park has been underway since 2016, with the city’s authorities seeking to merge the green areas along the banks of the Yauza River, a major tributary of the Moskva River, into a single mega-park.

This year, the city is expected to refurbish three other park zones along the river, Sobyanin said in a Telegram post on Wednesday.

“We plan to complete all work on the creation of the Yauza park by 2026,” the mayor wrote, adding that the park is set to become the largest – or at least the longest-spanning – one in Europe.

The city authorities are also working on the green zones along Moscow’s lesser rivers as well. Three small rivers in the city’s south are set to get park zones of their own this year, Sobyanin said. The parks will have playgrounds for children, spaces to walk dogs, outdoor sporting installations, and other facilities for recreation, according to the mayor.