Some time ago we felt inspired to count the monuments in Tsar Simeon's Garden. This time, however, we're going through some of our favorite statues, in front of which we're sure many of us have pictures, especially in our childhood years.
We can't help but start with perhaps the most popular Plovdiv sculpture, namely the bear at the western end of Tsar Simeon's Garden, by the pond with the cave. Urban legend says that a real bear lived in this place, but one day it tore the net to the neighboring cage where a doe lived and killed it. The bear was torn apart on the same day.
This, of course, sounds a bit fantastic, but it doesn’t change the fact that the bear in the Tsar-Simeon’s Garden is probably the statue most famous and beloved by all children. They often sit on it, use it for photos, and since it is located in the quieter part of the park, you can always spot people sitting around it relaxing and resting.
Around the fish pond is the sculpture of the Fisherboy, which even has a history and was not only destroyed, but also restored. The original monument was encroached upon in the past and was subsequently replaced with an exact replica.
The making and installation of The Fisherboy became possible after the Municipality of Plovdiv contacted the sculptor Kosta Lambrev’s son, Lambrian Atanasov, who provided the plaster model of the work so that the restoration could be carried out.
After a long consultation procedure at the National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage, the sculptor Ivan Totev made an exact bronze copy of the boy with the fishing rod, which delighted generations walking in the most beautiful garden in Plovdiv.
Right next to the playground is the figure of a girl and a boy embracing. Dozens of children from different generations have had their pictures taken with them over the years and the bronze statues certainly attract the attention of all visiting one of the largest play areas under the hills.
We move to another hill, a little lower, where we also find the next popular bear in Plovdiv - that of Bunardzhika, next to the Aqueducts. Lying down, basking in the sun, it doesn't flinch even when it rains.
On the site of the overgrown and desolate former bear lake, in 2019, after more than 40 years, the place was improved and turned into one of our favorite urban oases. Water attractions are controlled by special software, and at night the fountain is illuminated with artistic lighting. The plan is to synchronize the effects with light, and subsequently with music and 3D mapping projection. A children's playground was also built in the lower part, and thus the location became attractive for young and old, as well as a stage for a variety of cultural events.
On the neighboring hill of Dzhendema, we also find a sculpture, on which we probably all climbed as children. The goat is in close proximity to the Children's Railway and is a favorite place for the little ones to climb and run wild. Over the years, it has quite often been the victim of vandalism and we even remember it painted like a zebra, but it is still an iconic place to visit and a must-stop if you go on the train at the weekend.
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