Historical Fin Garden, A UNESCO World Heritage with Refreshing Environment

A great place to imagine yourself inside stories of Persia in a unique Persian Garden.

Fin garden is among nine gardens selected by UNESCO, as representative of Iranian Gardens, as a world heritage. Like all Iranian gardens, which are a testament to Iranians’ aesthetic nature, this one was built in central Iranian plateau with its arid climate. To preserve it against ruthless gales, Iranian farmers had to build high walls around it so they could defend the paradise they had created in desert. Mesmerizing beauty of an Iranian garden, Fin is where the pioneer of great reforms in Iran’s contemporary history, Amir-Kabir, was murdered in 19th century.

The garden in its present form was built under the reign of King Abbas the Great. It was mainly built in Safavid Era. It came more to spotlight once again in Qajarid period when another beautiful pavilion was built. It is a typical Iranian garden with water streams divided to irrigate smaller divisions each of which is allocated to a special fruit or vegetable. A pavilion (aka a kiosk orginataed from Persiqn Kushk) is also an outstanding characteristic of Iranian gardens, usually open from the sides, at which people used to enjoy their stay in the garden.

Architectural masterpiece of Fin garden lies in its water supply system for the fountains. The main water source comes from outside the garden. Solomon’s springs in the foothills of mountains is the source of irrigation in Fin garden. Water discharge rate is 360 liter per second. The water temperature is also stable throughout the year, 25 °C. Thus, it feels cold in the summer and warm in the winter. Back in Safavid Period, an Iranian mathematician called Jamshid Kashani applied an innovative technique which came to be known Pascal’s Law or principle of transmission of fluid pressure, two hundred years after this mathematician employed it for the garden’s fountains. A meter under the ground, some earthen pipes are laid which are blocked at one end and on the other end is connected to the water source. By varying diameters of the pipes in accordance to slope degree the ground has, he could keep water fountains’ discharge rate fixed at one level not withstanding how steep the slope is. In other words, the pipes are thicker and lose their thickness gradually by moving from the source towards the end of pipes.

Hereby, two important sections of Fin Garden are to be explained briefly as follows:

Hammams: There are two bathhouses in Fin Garden which date back to Safavid and Qajarid periods respectively. Amir Kabir was murdered in older bath which served as public bath for garden personnel.

Hoz-E Joosh: Another location of water input from the source spring is this basin, which is on southern side of garden. It has 160 orifices, half of them as water inputs and the other half as water outputs.

There were also two pavilions (kiosks) built respectively in Safavid and Qajarid periods. The word “kiosk” in western languages is rooted in middle Persian word “kushk” which was a small structure on either side of the garden to give a nice perspective of the whole garden for royal family.

Now, knowing Fin Garden in Kashan, a small city in middle of the desert on the way from Tehran to Isfahan or vice-versa, is a must-see en-route or during your stay in Kashan. So, while in the city, you can also visit Bazaar of Kashan, Agha Bozorg Mosque, Tabatabaei and Borujerdiha House, Abbasian House, Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse, Ameriha House, Tepe Sialk and other historical attractions. Contact Marcopolo via incoming@iranmarcopolo.com for more information on tours including Tabatabaei House or other historical attraction in Kashan.