Monument sights in Sofia
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A
Borisova Gradina
Sofia's most attractive expanse of greenery is home to the Vasil Levski Stadium, CSKA Stadium and Maria Luisa Pool, as well as bike tracks and tennis courts. It's laid out with countless statues and flowerbeds, and is a relaxing place to take a leisurely stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The eastern end of the park is dominated by a gigantic communist monument built in 1956 and known as the Mound of Brotherhood, featuring a 42m-high obelisk and socialist-realist icons including a pair of partisan fighters, dramatically gesturing comrades clutching Kalashnikovs, and smiling, stoic workers. It has long been neglected by the authorities, and several of the socialist heroes…
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Pl Bulgaria
The National Palace of Culture (NDK) watches over an elongated park known as Pl Bulgaria. There are a few kiosks and sociable bars here for those in search of a cheap alfresco beer, as well as carts selling popcorn and ice cream. It's also a favourite venue for Sofia's skateboarding teens.
Steps just in front of the NDK building lead down into a gloomy underpass crammed with cheap clothes shops and cafés.
At the northern end of pl Bulgaria is the 1300 Years Monument. Nearby is the memorial and chapel dedicated to the victims of the communist regime, with a plaque bearing some 10,000 names. Behind it is a section of the Berlin Wall.
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B
Monument to the Soviet Army
The giant Monument to the Soviet Army was built to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Russian 'liberation' of Bulgaria in 1944 and is a prime example of the forceful socialist-realism of the period. The place of honour goes to a Red Army soldier atop a column, surrounded by animated cast-iron sculptural groups depicting determined, gun-waving soldiers and grateful, child-caressing members of the proletariat.
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C
Doctors' Garden
Just behind the National Library, in one of the smartest residential areas in town, this neat, secluded and well-maintained park is a pleasant place to catch your breath. At the centre is a big, pyramidal monument dedicated to the medics who died in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Also here is an outdoor lapidarium featuring lots of Roman architectural fragments dug up around Sofia.
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D
1300 Years Monument
At the northern end of pl Bulgaria is the disintegrating 1300 Years Monument, built in 1981 to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the First Bulgarian Empire. It has been falling to pieces and fenced off for years, and nobody seems to want to take responsibility for the renovation - or more likely, the demolition - of this unloved monstrosity.
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