Synthesis between nature, art and poetry
The unique memorial park is a synthesis between nature, art and poetry. However, the image of the socialist poet Penyo Penev was instrumentalised for propaganda purposes.
Innovative park art
A fascinating fact is that the “Penyo Penev” Memorial Park was built on a completely destroyed quarry for the extraction of limestone, which had been used to construct the town of Dimitrovgrad. Inspired by the world exhibition of park art held in Italy in 1961, the rich plant composition followed the latest trends worldwide.
Dimitrovgrad’s green system
The park was part of Dimitrovgrad’s green system, created not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to improve the microclimate of the town, which was affected by industrial pollution. Soon, the park became a favourite recreation area as well as a place for cultural events – improvised readings, concerts and recitals.
Poetry for propaganda
In 1958, the park was dedicated to the youth brigade movement and later on to the socialist poet Penyo Penev, whose poetry was to a large extent ignored during his lifetime. In the highest part of the park, a monument to the poet (Vasil Pisanov, 1969) was erected. Poem citations were chiselled on a number of stones – an innovative approach for the time. The selection of the citations was ideologically based, thus serving the propagandist purposes of the socialist regime.