Bulgarian Bells Ring for Peace Again

Society » CULTURE | June 11, 2010, Friday // 13:53
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Bells Ring for Peace Again Children will be able to ring again the famous Bulgarian "Bells", built during the communist era, after the official opening ceremony on Friday. File photo

The Bulgarian “Bells”, built during the communist era and associated mostly with it, will ring again after the official opening ceremony in Sofia on Friday.

The historical Bulgarian monument will have a chance to live a second life, after being silent for more than 20 years. Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova and the Minister of Culture, Vezhdi Rashidov, enjoyed the performances of students from the National Conservatory and the Italian lyceum in Bulgaria at the official opening ceremony.

“The Bells” was built in 1979 in Sofia by Lyudmila Zhivkova's foundation “Zname na mira”. Zhivkova was daughter of the communist head of state Todor Zhivkov. Her foundation aimed at gathering children from all over the world as ambassadors of peace.

The monument consists of 98 bells from all over the world, last ones being donated by NATO and Pope John Paul II. The uniqueness of it comes from the 18 singing bells that make up a musical instrument, able to perform different melodies.

“The ropes the bells were hanging on were rotten and there was a possibility for the bells to fall down. In order to prevent any incidents, the bells were stopped from working. Fixing them was very complicated, but now this is a fact and I will be very glad if it becomes a stage for other children concerts as well,” Zheni Zhivkova, daughter of Lyudmila Zhivkova and founder of the foundation “Lyudmila Zhivkova – Zname na mira”.

The replacement of the ropes was a donation by Bulgarian construction company “Glavbolgarstroy”.

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Tags: monument, Bells, "Zname na mira", Zheni Zhivkova, Lyudmila Zhivkova, Todor Zhivkov

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