Bell Park Sofia
The Bells ( Bulgarian Камбаните / Kambanite) are a park on the outskirts of Sofia (Bulgaria) with a bell tower and over 70 bells from different countries around the world.
The official name of the facility was "Park Complex 'The Bells' at the Children's Parliament Banner of Peace, Sofia" (Bulgarian: "Парк-комплекс, Камбаните 'към Детската Асамблея, Знамблея‚ Знаме на Мира' ) of peace '”(Bulgarian Монумента“ Знаме на мира ” ). The bell tower is also known as the "Monument Unity Creativity Beauty". The associated small park is officially called “International Park of the Children of the World”; Bulgarian “Международен парк на децата от света” ). The small park is located at the foot of the Vitosha Mountains , near the Mladost residential area, on the border between the Simeonovo and Pantscharewo districts, 500 meters south of the Sofia motorway ring .
investment
The park with the bell system was opened on August 15, 1979 by Lyudmila Zhivkova . It was built according to her idea and at her own initiative. The influential daughter of the long-time Bulgarian party and government leader Todor Zhivkov had been Minister of Culture since 1975 (official name: "Chair of the Committee for Culture") and since 1979 a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party's Politburo .
The bells of the individual countries form a large circle around the central bell tower. The Bulgarian and English inscription on the base of the bell tower reads: "Unity, Creativity, Beauty" ( Bulgar . "Единство, Творчество, Красота" / Edinstwo, Tvichestvo, Krassota ). A large relief plaque on the bell tower shows Lyudmila Zhivkova, who is surrounded by numerous children. A small UNESCO plaque on the bell tower bears the French inscription: The Children of the World (Amadou Mathar M'Bow, Director General of UNESCO, 25 August 1979). Among other things, a traditional Japanese temple bell and an Indonesian gong are hung. The bells of the defunct Soviet Union and the SFRY are still represented there. A bell donated by NATO (May 2002) was added. A bell to mark the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club (1905–2005) is also hung. A bell of the Islamic Republic of Iran can also be seen afterwards . Below each Glock there is a plaque with the respective country of origin. Many bells also bear the name of the country of origin directly. The condition of the facility, built in concrete, is relatively good. Traces of rust can only be seen on a few bells after more than 30 years.
Children's festival "Banner of Peace"
In 1979 Bulgaria hosted the International Children's Parliament 'Banner of Peace', which was under the auspices of UNESCO . The international children's festival "Banner of Peace" (Bulgarian Знаме на Мира / Sname na mira; English Banner of Peace), organized in Sofia as part of the UN World Children's Year in 1979, took place in the Bulgarian press and radio with great propaganda support. A Bulgarian stamp series was also issued on the occasion.
In connection with this "world meeting" of children from 77 countries, the park and the bell system were created and inaugurated in 1979. In 1979, children from 79 countries took part in the first children's parliament (16-25 August 1979) and set up 68 different bells that were permanently installed in the facility.
The children's festival was designed as an artistic competition for literature, music and visual arts and took place under the motto “Unity, Creativity, Beauty”, three basic concepts of Nicholas Roerich , who advocated “Peace through culture” (“Where there is culture, there is peace where there is peace, there is culture. ")
1300 anniversary of Bulgaria
1981 was about to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria, with which the foundation of the Bulgarian state in 681 (the foundation was probably 679, the recognition as an independent state by the Byzantine Empire in 681) was to be celebrated. This year the Palace of Culture in Sofia was opened with a huge monument to the 1300 year old history of Bulgaria. Monuments to the 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria's existence have been erected across the country (near Varna and Shumen ). In the Palace of Justice in Sofia in 1984 a large permanent exhibition on the 1,300-year history of Bulgaria was established. The first Bulgarian satellite Bulgaria 1300 was launched into space with Soviet help. The famous old tree in the Pirin Mountains, the Bajkuschewa Mura , was dated 1300 years, the founding date of the First Bulgarian Empire - before that it was dated 1200 years old. Lyudmila Zhivkova's efforts to bring Bulgaria into the spotlight of the world as a very old and at the same time modern cultural nation are part of this state-controlled euphoria at the 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria. The initiative for the international movement "Banner of Peace" (English. Banner of Peace), a kind of world children's parliament, and the facility built for this purpose. The bells were an action in the run-up to these celebrations.
continuation
The initiative for the children's parliament “Banner of Peace” was originally planned only as a one-off event. Because of the positive international response, it was decided to repeat such meetings every three years. The 1989 children's meeting attracted a record number of 135 countries. In 1990, however, the 18 foreign branches of the “International Children's Assembly 'Banner of Peace', Sofia” were closed. Evgenija Schiwkowa (Bulgar. Евгения Живкова ), a member of parliament and the daughter of the initiator Lyudmila Schiwkowa, revived the children's meeting in 1999. The 9th Children's Forum was held in Kazanlak in 2007 .
In 1999 the foundation "Lyudmila Zhivkova - Banner of Peace" (Bulgarian Фондация "Людмила Живкова - Знаме на мира" ), a non-governmental organization, was established.
Individual evidence
- ^ Inauguration speech by Lyudmila Schiwkowa (Eng.)
- ↑ Very objective appreciation of her cultural and political achievement in communist Bulgaria
Web links
Coordinates: 42 ° 37 ′ 6.5 ″ N , 23 ° 22 ′ 45.3 ″ E