On the hills, in the gardens, and across the squares, monuments once stood that today can only be found in archival photos, old coins, or dusty memories. In this text, we will resurrect 10 vanished monuments of Plovdiv—traces of grandeur, ideology, and art that left their mark on the soul of the city.
Statue of Heracles
On the Hill of the Liberators (Bunardzhika), there once stood an impressive statue. Until the mid-19th century, the pedestal of the statue with a Greek inscription carved into it was preserved at the very top. Most of the letters were almost entirely erased. What could be read was copied by the Greek historian Tsoukalas. Surviving images show that at this high point stood a colossal figure of Heracles. His image is preserved on a coin minted during Emperor Geta's reign (211 AD) showing Heracles, nude and standing on the granite, holding a spiked mace in his right hand and a lion's skin in his left.
Statue of Apollo
On the rocks of Dzhambaz Tepe stood the statue of the city’s principal deity, Apollo Kendrizius. The monument is engraved on a coin from the time of Emperor Commodus (180–192 AD).
Statue of Orpheus
According to the researcher Nikolay Sharankov, a statue of Orpheus stood at today’s “Central” Square. Sculptural images were found in many places around the city—most notably at the Ancient Theatre, the Roman Stadium, and the Forum.
Monument “Bulgaria Lays Flowers on the Graves of National Freedom Fighters”
Only after the Liberation did Plovdiv begin to speak of monuments. Around the time of the First Bulgarian Exhibition in 1892, a model of the monument “Bulgaria Lays Flowers on the Graves of National Freedom Fighters” was placed in the “Tsar Simeon” Garden. It depicted a young Bulgarian woman laying a bouquet of flowers on the graves of G. S. Rakovski, Vasil Levski, Hadzhi Dimitar, and Stefan Karadzha.
Bust of Russian Emperor Alexander II
The image of the Tsar Liberator stood near the Fountain of Demeter, sculpted by the Italian artist Arnaldo Zocchi. In postcards printed after World War I, the monument’s location is shown empty. Likely during the period 1916–1918, when Plovdiv was filled with German and Austrian soldiers, the bust of Alexander II quietly disappeared.
Monument to Saint Augustine
In 1922, a small monument to St. Augustine, the patron saint of the French Boys’ College, appeared in front of the college building. Nearly 30 years later, the statue of the saint vanished and was replaced by a large statue of Vasil Kolarov. However, the leader also didn’t remain long at that location. In 1927, during the renovation of the lake in the “Tsar Simeon” Garden, several other monuments were also placed that are now completely lost.
Sculptural Group of Children with a Large Fish
It is most likely related to the cleaning of the water basin and its transformation into one of the main attractions in the city of the hills. It was an unusual sculptural group—two children with a large cement fish. A stream of water from the fish's mouth fed the lake. Half a century later, the fish disappeared to make space for the Singing Fountains.
Monument of a Lion
It depicted a lion mounted on a stone column. According to its creators, it symbolized Bulgarian military glory. However, journalists mockingly called the new monument a “lion-cat” and the criticism forced the municipality to remove the oddity.
Two Monuments Displayed as Symbols of the First Bulgarian Exhibition in Plovdiv of 1892:
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