The Seaside Garden in Varna
|
|
The Seaside Garden will always be associated with the name of the Czech Antonin Novak - a park designer specialized in the Vienna castles of Schoenburn and Belvedere. The 35 years old Novak was invited to Varna and he was assigned the post of a park director. Shortly the slaughterhouse and the garbage heaps were moved away, the beach was cleared and various kinds of trees were planted. Soon the Seaside Garden became known as the most beautiful park on the Balkan Peninsula. Little by little the territory of the park enlarged and in 1905 it reached to 90 decares. In 1912-1913 a couple of fountain-springs were built in the first part of the park and it was partially electrified. In some 10 years Varna was already established as a resort centre and the rest of the park was also electrified.In 1907 a National Revival Committee was established and its idea was to dedicate an alley in the second part of the park to the Bulgarian Revival Movement. Its task was to erect 22 monuments in the Seaside Garden: 20 in honour of outstanding activists in the liberation movement, 1 in honour of Science or Enlightenment and 1 - of Liberty. The project started in 1911 with the monument of the famous poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev, followed a year later by that of another famous revolutionary Vassil Levski. This activity was interrupted by the beginning of the war and in 1920, to commemorate his anniversary and although he was still alive, a monument to the great Bulgarian author Ivan Vazov was erected. A few other statues were built in the course of the following couple of years and after a long break the tradition was renewed again in 1973. All the monuments were made by Varna sculptors. |
|
