THE BAITEREK IS NOT THE ONLY TREE IN THE CITY

The city of Nur-Sultan is primarily associated with the Baiterek monument. But, as it turned out, Baiterek is not the only unique “tree” of our capital.

Here you see the oldest tree of the city. This black poplar was planted at the end of the 19th century when this park was founded. Thanks to the efforts of Akmola entrepreneurs and intellectuals, the park on the left bank of Ishim was planted with secular trees in 1891-1893. The archives preserve the names of the patriots who planted these trees, they are the pharmacist Pyotr Putilov, the merchant Khaliulla Nigmatullin, the physician Chiglovskiy. One of those trees has survived to this day despite the severe weather conditions and fires. This tree is an architectural monument of the first general plan of the city of Akmolinsk and the historical landscape of the Yessil river bank.

There was launched children's railway in the Akmola Railway Park, the future Capital Park, in 1946 which operated to 2002. Pobeda Station, the wooden station building, and the ticket office was located next to the Old Poplar. There was a boat station nearby, as well as the beach, which local people called Soldier's Beach.

This was a favorite meeting place for citizens of Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and Astana. People fixed meetings, confessed their love, and took photos for the family album under its branches. These photos and memories are collected on an Instagram account called “@vetvi.pamyati” (Branches of Memory) dedicated to the oldest tree of the city.

At the initiative of the activists of "Fading TSE" (Fading.TSE: Ретроспектива столицы), work is underway to include the poplar in the list of historical and cultural monuments of local significance. To date, the old poplar has been fenced in and a description board has been installed. Information about the tree in 3 languages can be read in the “izi.travel” mobile application.

What memories do you have associated with this tree?

Author: Базарбек Қамысбаев (Kamysbaev Bazarbek)

Photo: Fading.TSE: Ретроспектива столицы