Kambanite, symbol of the innocent faith in the good that only children can have
Tour guide Sofia and the Bells (Kambanite), which are a monument and a park in Sofia. Quite understandingly, children from all over the world built into the unique monument their faith in the good. Also, their faith for bright days to come, days without war and violence. The Monument symbolizes the great desire of children to live in a peaceful and beautiful environment.
Kambanite (The Bells) is dedicated to children all over the world.
With a tour guide Sofia and Sofia daily tour, Kambanite is an interesting place to visit
During the Communist regime many Bulgarian families had to leave the country because of political differences. Therefore, that is the case with many Bulgarians who live all around the world. Kambanite represent all the Bulgarian children living abroad. If you come from abroad to Bulgaria, you can enjoy the view and sound of the bells. You can also decide to be part of some of our tours such as Ephesus sightseeing tour. Each tour is worth the thinking, at least.
The park with the bells was the idea of Lyudmila Zhivkova. She was the daughter of the former Communist leader of Bulgaria – Todor Zhivkov. Lyudmila Zhivkova was a respected patron of the arts, and she established the monument through the “Banner of Peace”, an organization with support from UNESCO. The daughter of Todor Zhivkov was a very controversial figure. That was due to the fact that she had her interests in esoteric Eastern religion and spirituality. As chairman of the Government’s Committee for Culture since June 1975, she was in charge of education, culture and science. She opened Bulgaria to foreign culture and people knew her as a promoter of Bulgarian creative arts.
Tour guide Sofia – Unity, Creativity, Beauty
An inscription at the monument’s base reads, “Children of the future accept the eternal, fiery call of immortality – Unity, Creativity, Beauty.” The design of the park is of a circular pattern of bells. Different countries donated the bells. (different countries like our various tours such as walking tours Istanbul, for example) There is also a concrete tower in the centre. It holds seven bells which represent the seven continents. With the participation of the UNESCO Banner of Peace children’s movement, the Bells Monument was built in only 30 days and nights.
As the construction of The Bells happened in the Communist era and thus part of it, may be a symbol, for many years the monument and park had fallen into a state of neglect. Unfortunately, today many of the original bells are missing. And these are bells from all around the world – the USSR, both the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia. Also from North and South Korea, Syria, Angola, China, Nicaragua, Thailand, Zimbabwe and many other countries around the world. There is Bulgaria’s whopping 1300 kg bell as well (commemorating 1300 years of Bulgarian history in 1981). There are even new bells that NATO and the Rotary club donated after Communism.
Lyudmila Zhivkova
Lyudmila Zhivkova’s daughter, Evgeniya Zhivkova (also a fashion designer) started a campaign to restore the park. She is hoping the place to be an area preserved for the children only. Her ambition is in the future that park to be again the meeting point for the Bulgarian children with different contests, concerts and competitions.
The location of The Bells Monument (Kambanite) is in a park outside of Sofia’s city centre, at the foot of the Vitosha Mountain.
To sum up, tour guide Sofia suggests that it can be a nice break out of the town of Sofia. Please, don’t ignore the small sign saying that the bells are for children and they only can ring the bells. We do hope that one day the world will get united for the children.
Simply contact us for more information about our various tours.
