Amir Timur Square, Tashkent

The history of the square in the center of Tashkent named after Amir Timur, the commander and founder of a huge medieval empire, began as early as in the XIX century, when Tashkent was the center of the Turkestan Military Command, composing the Russian Empire. It was established by order of general M. Chernyaev in 1882. The square represented a small park in the center of the city, surrounded by buildings of women and men’s gymnasium, normal school and state bank.

Right in the center of the square, there is a monument to the outstanding commander and statesman of the XIV century Amir Timur, who managed to found a centralized united state composing of 27 countries in the vast territory from the Mediterranean Sea to India. The monument is represented as a bronze figure of Amir Timur with imperial regalia on a reared horse. The monument plinth is engraved with an Amir Timur’s famous motto in four languages “Power is in Justice”. The monument author is the sculptor Ilkhom Jabbarov.

There was a small park around the monument but after reconstruction conducted in 2009, this place was cleared and transformed to a small square with fountains and plantings.

Amir Timur Square is surrounded with the buildings of the “Uzbekistan” Hotel, University of Law (former Women’s Gymnasium), the Amir Timur Museum, well-known Tashkent Chimes and the Forums Palace - one of the most grandiose architectural structures in Tashkent.

The Forums Palace was built in autumn 2009. It became a place to hold important state and international events, for instance: the SCO Summit. The Forums Palace impresses not only with its architecture, but also with its sizes. Its area is almost 10,000 m2. From outside the Forums Palace is decorated with majestic columns, but the most outstanding part of the palace architecture is its dome. It reaches almost 48 m in height; its peak is crowned with figures of storks.

Almost all the buildings located around Amir Timur Square have historical importance. One of them is the building of University of Law. It is situated opposite Amir Timur Square and is a historical monument of the XIX century. The building itself was built by order of the Turkestan governor-general Kaufman. It housed a women’s gymnasium for a long time. During the Soviet time this building was given to Tashkent State University. There was History Faculty in the left wing and Faculty of Law in the right one. After proclamation of independence the building was fully given to University of Law.

To the right from University of Law there is the building of the Amir Timur Museum. The Museum inauguration was dated to 660 anniversary of Amir Timur. The Amir Timur Museum holds exhibits dedicated to the epoch of Timur and the Timurid dynasty . There, you can see beautiful miniatures reflecting events of that epoch. There is a copy of the Ottoman Koran in the central hall on the Museum ground floor. The walls of the hall, decorated by the best artists of Uzbekistan, show the scenes from Timur’s life.

The exposition of the first and second floors represents a collection of utensils, weapons and clothes belonging to the Timur and Timurid epoch.

But, perhaps the most famous architectural monument located on the Square is the Tashkent Chime. Over dozens of years from the moment of its construction in 1947, it was the symbol of Tashkent. The author of the building floor plan was A.A. Mukhamedshin and this project initiator was I.A. Eisenstein – one of the Tashkent residents, a watchmaker by profession. During the war he participated in battles in German city of Allenstein and brought the famous clock mechanism from there and presented it on behalf of his regiment to Tashkent. A famous Uzbek master in ganch (clay gypsum) carving - usto Shirin Muradov participated in its outer facade decoration. In 2009 another chime being as a mirror reflection of the old one was built in the course of construction in the center of the city. Today new and old chimes may be called an original “Gate” of the Square.

Near the Amir Timur Square, there are a cinema theatre and entertainment centers, which fact contributes much to the constant popularity of the place. All roads from there lead to all parts of the city, making it not only the most vital meeting place but also one of the most popular attractions in Tashkent. The history of modern Tashkent is inseparably connected with its center – Amir Timur Square.