„This is the right size.“ With these words, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev accepted a model of the Soviet Army Monument from the BSP municipal councilor Ivan Takov.
At the initiative of the BSP group, the model was handed over at the beginning of today's meeting of the Sofia Municipal Council. The gesture is part of the ongoing public and political debate about the future of the monument and its place in the urban environment of Sofia.
On May 14, the Sofia Municipal Council decided, at the proposal of Vasil Terziev, that the municipality acquire the figures of the monument. At that time, the mayor argued that the goal was for their future to be decided by the Sofia Municipal Council as the responsible body, since the terrain of the “Princely Garden” is now municipal property.
The mayor emphasized at the time that this was not a unilateral decision, but that public discussions were forthcoming on whether the figures should be returned or moved. “The space must be developed in a way that unites society, not divides it“, said Terziev, adding that the Sofia Municipality is starting a procedure for a conceptual design for the future of the “Prince's Garden”, which also includes the space around the monument.