After exploring the history and architecture around Tsar Simeon’s Garden with Adi and Teo, today’s text is dedicated to the park itself. Our guide through its flora was our tour guest Nevena Tsvetkova. She is a landscape architect, teacher of park construction, and author of the book “Handbook for Planting, Transplanting, Care, and Pruning of Ornamental Trees in Urban Areas”.
Not even all Plovdiv residents know that Tsar Simeon’s Garden is not a natural green space, but an artificially created oasis by Plovdiv’s landscaper Lucien Chevalas – the Swiss gardener known as the Minister of Flowers. He worked on this project with the help of his compatriot Henri Meyer. Together, they created their colorful masterpiece in 1892 for the First Bulgarian Exhibition. An 80-decare (8-hectare) area, previously abandoned Turkish cemeteries, was designated for the project, and another ten decares were expropriated around it.
In just ten months, 35 pavilions, two restaurants, buildings for the fire and police departments, animal shelters, a telegraph-postal station, and a photography studio were built. Simultaneously, the park environment was developed – under Chevalas’ guidance, 264 ten-year-old trees were planted along six alleys, many flowers were arranged, and three lakes were formed. This feat is considered by many professionals to be almost impossible to achieve, even today.
In the largest lake, there was a motorboat named “Angel Kanchev” which was able to carry 16 passengers, and in the center of the lake - a tall geyser spouting water. Tables from a modest restaurant sat under leafy willows, and nearby stood the iron structure of the Luda Yana slide, brought all the way from Prague.
The second lake was in the corner of the park near today’s House of Technology. A small hill rose there, with a gazebo on top. Below was a man-made cave with stalactites and stalagmites. A beautiful waterfall cascaded from the hilltop into the lake.
The third lake teemed with fish.
At the very entrance of the park stood a fountain designed by the world-renowned sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi. The sculpture of Demeter, Goddess of Fertility, was commissioned by the Austrian Emperor as a wedding gift to Prince Ferdinand. Initially placed in Sofia, the prince later gifted it to Plovdiv with explicit instructions to install it at the entrance of the First Bulgarian Exhibition.
For the first time in Bulgaria, such a large area was illuminated by electric light during the event.
The exhibition ended on November 3 1892. At that time, it was officially announced that, by decree of Prince Ferdinand that the park would be handed over to the Plovdiv Municipality and henceforth be called “Tsar Simeon the Great Garden”. The same name was given to the square in front of the main exhibition entrance.
From January 1 1893, the Tsar Simeon Garden was opened to the public. Initially, much like the Royal Garden in Sofia (also created by Chevalas), it was locked at night to keep out drunks, cattle, and pigs.
The fence was beautiful, modeled after those enclosing some European parks, and it remained intact for a relatively long time. There was even a "curfew" meaning the park closed at 7:00 p.m. Due to public protests, it was decided that during hot weather, the garden would remain open until midnight. Eventually, the gates were no longer locked.
During World War I, the park’s maintenance budget was drastically reduced. After the earthquake of April 18 1928 that destroyed thousands of homes, shacks, huts, and tents appeared along the alleys. These temporary shelters housed people from all parts of Plovdiv for nearly a year, but their presence severely damaged many of the plants and trees. It took years to erase the traces of the devastation.
During the term of Mayor Bozhidar Zdravkov, the city had a chief gardener. Major park renovations took place in 1974 and again in 2015, significantly contributing to the appearance we enjoy today.
As Nevena shared, the “backbone” of the garden consists mainly of native tree species – plane trees, ash trees, lindens, and elms. Particularly beautiful in early spring is the Judas tree near the lake, which blooms in stunning pink-violet flowers.
In the 1950s, the alley next to the large playground was carefully landscaped with seasonal flowers, a tradition that continues today. It’s known as the “Crooked Parterre”. There, you can also spot a beautiful pigeon house on a tree to the right of the entrance to the play area.
The park also contains one tree frequently ranked among the most dangerous in the world. The Gleditsia has a bad reputation due to its large 10-cm thorns, which can injure people and animals and even puncture car tires. One such tree stands near the pedestrian crossing on “Avksentiy Veleski” Street. Still, this type of tree is a valuable melliferous species that helps produce very fragrant honey.
Today, Tsar Simeon’s Garden is a little paradise in the city center, and we must remember that it is also our duty to preserve and cherish it.
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