Imre Ormos Park
Among the experts who arrived in Turkey in the early 20th century was Imre Ormos, one of the most distinguished figures in the field of horticultural engineering in Hungary.
Ormos was born on May 27, 1903, in Budapest. He earned his degree from the Horticultural College in 1926 and then worked at the László Unghváry Tree Distributir Co., where he was sent on assignment to Turkey in 1927.Ormos worked in Turkey on behalf of the Unghváry company from April 1, 1921, to November 31, 1928. His task was to establish the company’s warehouse in Turkey and expand its customer base. During his two years in Turkey, in addition to designing the streets and parks of Ankara, he also contributed to the reconstruction of the Presidential Residence in Çankaya. He had most of the saplings used in Turkey shipped from Cegléd, and during his work there, he collaborated with the Hungarian Jenő Liszka.
He recalls his work as follows: “After graduating from horticultural college, with a fresh diploma from that semester in my pocket, I went to Turkey. At that time, Ankara was beginning to develop into a capital city as a result of Kemal Pasha’s reforms. We redesigned the streets and created parks; I designed the Heroes’ Cemetery, worked on Kemal Pasha’s private estate, and built structures for embassies and private clients. The city lies 700 meters above sea level; the climate does not correspond to its geographical latitude, and this made my work easier, because the semi-arid climate is similar to that of the region between the Tisza and Danube rivers in Hungary. The vegetation is also similar; we even shipped saplings directly from Cegléd.”
In memory of Imre Ormos’s work, a park was opened in Ankara in December 2023 during the Hungarian-Turkish Cultural Year, in cooperation between the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and the Hungarian Embassy in Ankara. A bust created by sculptor Zafer Sarı is on display in the park.
