The Standing Committee on Education of the Municipal Council examined the proposal for placing a monument to King Ferdinand in Burgas.
The idea was initiated by Prof. Petot Stojanovic, doctor of historical sciences.
It is proposed that the place for the monument be in front of the entrance to the Convention Center at Sea Station. It is state-owned and does not require permission from the local parliament, but its opinion is nevertheless required.
The commission itself today expressed disagreement with the installation of a monument to the Bulgarian king, who is a rather controversial figure in our history.
“Personally, I believe that there is no unequivocal opinion about this person in our history. It is quite controversial and I can support words said by Stambolov that: “The Bulgarian people can forgive him everything, but not Ferdinand.” From a historical point of view, this king of ours was one of our best rulers until the period 1910-1912. But then he played a significant role in the two national catastrophes that followed for our country. There is no monument to Ferdinand erected anywhere in Bulgaria, and in the 20s of the last century there were bas-reliefs at both ports” said the chairman of the education committee, Stanimir Baev.
The proponents of the proposal are motivated by the fact that Ferdinand has a major role in the construction of the modern port in Burgas, since under Ottoman rule the capacity of the old one is minimal.
The first modern Bulgarian port was opened on May 18, 1903 with a solemn ceremony in the presence of Prince Ferdinand I, who in 1894 issued a Decree for its construction.
Cannon salutes and steamboat sirens mark this date, after which the development of the city of Burgas and the destinies of generations of Burgasians are inextricably linked with its prosperity. In 1899, the white Burgas lighthouse was lit – the first Bulgarian port lighthouse, and a few years later a stone bas-relief with the king’s face was placed at its base.
„As a sign of recognition and sympathy of generations of Bulgarians and residents of Burgas Municipality to the efforts to modernize and Europeanize our country at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the Municipality of Burgas, working together with the Burgas Port Authority and the relevant state and municipal bodies, may place a bust of the ruler in a prominent and representative place on the grounds of the port, in connection with the 120th anniversary of the opening of the new port” it is also written in the report.
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