The Hamedan Sacred Defense Garden Museum was officially opened in 2010 in four main sections. This garden museum features various sections that showcase historical artifacts, documents, and narrative displays related to the eight years of the Sacred Defense, organized and presented in a coherent manner.⁠[1] It is the third such garden museum established in Iran, following those in Kermanshah and Kerman provinces.⁠[2]

Construction of the Hamedan Sacred Defense Garden Museum began in 1997 on a 6.5-hectare site along Qaem Boulevard (at the beginning of the Ganjnameh Road). During the Iran-Iraq War, this same location had served as a field hospital. The project was initiated under the supervision of Brigadier General Hussain Hamedani (martyred), Brigadier General Ali-Reza Shamsipour (martyred), and Ali-Akbar Hemmati (martyred). It was inaugurated in 2010 in four sections, while the remaining two sections are still under construction.⁠[3]

The first section, covering 5,000 square meters, includes an amphitheater (seating 160 people), a 2,500-square-meter administrative building, and a 300-square-meter mausoleum dedicated to the unidentified martyrs.⁠[4]

The second section houses a classic museum occupying 3,000 square meters, along with a gallery dedicated to the role of the Iranian Army Air Force, veterans, Jahad-e Sazandegi, the Basij, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units during the eight-year war, all situated within a two‑hectare area.⁠[5] Inside the museum, more than 25 booths are arranged in four main halls, depicting the aerial bombardments of Hamedan, the public mobilization to the fronts, and key operations of the Sacred Defense period.⁠[6]

The third section of the garden museum includes outdoor spaces, the Talar‑e Sardaran (Hall of Commanders), the Talar‑e Ashuraei (Ashura Hall), the Katibe‑ye Moqavemat (Resistance Inscription), and the Talar‑e Velayat (Velayat Hall), which explains the role of Imam Khomeini (ra) and the Leadership during the Iran– Iraq War, as well as a commemorative structure (Tandis-e Oruj va Khakriz-e Moqavemat) bearing the names of 8,000 martyrs from Hamedan Province.⁠[7]

The fourth section features a 6,000‑square‑meter artificial lake and a musical water fountain that projects films related to the Sacred Defense onto a 40‑meter‑wide by 20‑meter‑high water screen, plays synchronized music, performs choreographed water movements through electronic controllers, and generates mist over the lake, as well as seating platforms for 2,000 visitors.⁠[8]

The Sacred Defense Park, covering 2.5 hectares, includes green spaces, symbolic elements, heavy and medium military equipment left behind by the Iraqi army, statues of commanders, and a 1,000-square-meter panorama housed a cylindrical structure measuring 42 meters in diameter and 27 meters in height across three levels. This panorama reconstructs the actual frontline of Khorramshahr, depicting the city from the outbreak of the war through to its liberation.⁠[9] Along with a Hosseiniyeh, these constitute the fifth and sixth sections currently under construction and completion.⁠[10]

Other notable features of the Hamedan Sacred Defense Garden Museum include the mausoleum of the unidentified martyr, Qadr-H, Shahab-2, and Tondar missiles, the lake with musical fountain, wartime military equipment, statues and busts of the commanders of the province, the statue of Major General Martyr Haj Hussain Hamedani, the Azadi (freedom), Madar (mother), Havapeyma (airplane), and Laleha-ye Sorkh (Red Tulips) sculptures, a special booth dedicated to Major General Martyr Haj Hussain Hamedani, a booth honoring the martyrs of the Defense of the Holy Shrines from Hamedan Province, and a commemorative mural for the nation’ s martyrs of the Defense of the Holy Shrines.⁠[11]

The overall layout of the Hamedan Garden Museum is designed so that visitors first walk along an outdoor pathway lined with statues and busts of the province’ s commanders from the eight‑year Sacred Defense, eventually reaching the commemorative structure bearing the names of the martyrs from Hamedan Province.⁠[12]

Upon entering the indoor area of the museum, an overview of several thousand years of Iranian history— from ancient times up to Iraq’ s invasion of Iran— is presented. One striking display is a reconstructed alley from Khorramshahr with Arabic graffiti on one wall reading: “ We came to stay”. Further along the corridor is a recreated classroom bombed by enemy aircraft, brought to life with sound and lighting effects simulating an explosion. Another booth dedicated to the Iranian Army Air Force shows aerial refueling procedures, models, and photographs of various reconnaissance and fighter aircraft used throughout the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.⁠[13]

The final part of the museum traces the history of the Islamic Revolution: scenes of the Shah’ s fall, Golestan-e Enqelab (the emergence of the Islamic Revolution), the Shah’ s and the West’ s efforts to overthrow the Revolution, the connection between the Iranian people’ s movement and the Ashura uprising, scenes of farewells and deployments to the fronts, the enemy’ s defeat, the end of the war, and the return of the freed prisoners of war. Visitors conclude their tour by viewing sections depicting the post-war reconstruction and rebuilding of the country.⁠[14]

In general, the design of the Hamedan Sacred Defense Garden Museum is inspired by thematic concepts such as martyrdom‑seeking, heroism, documentation, and scene‑setting. Among its memorable elements are recreations such as the bombed classroom, the social trench, and similar experiential installations.⁠[15]

The museum also hosts national and religious commemorations, martyr memorials, film screenings, and book exhibitions.⁠[16]

In addition to visitor facilities, the garden museum includes a research section containing scholarly works, documents, and records related to the role and activities of Hamedan Province’ s forces during the eight‑year Sacred Defense, which researchers could use in their studies.⁠[17] Currently, the museum operates under a board of trustees headed by the provincial governor and includes three working groups: “ Development, Maintenance, Restoration, and Reconstruction” (chaired by the mayor), “ Finance and Human Resources” (chaired by the head of the Planning and Budget Organization of Hamedan Province), and “ Cultural Affairs” (chaired by the head of the Foundation for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Works and Values of Hamedan Province).⁠[18]