Monument of Liberty

The Monument of Liberty stands at the centre of Freedom Square in Ruse, the focal point of the city's most elegant public space. The bronze figure — a winged woman holding a laurel wreath — rises from a tall pedestal inscribed with the names of Bulgarian and Russian soldiers killed in the liberation battles. The square surrounding it is the pedestrianised heart of Ruse and the natural gathering place for the city.

The monument was designed by Arnoldo Zocchi, the Italian sculptor also responsible for the Garibaldi monument in Bologna and other major public works across Europe. The Ruse commission was one of his largest. The bronze casting was done in Italy; the stone base was cut and assembled in Ruse. The square is at its best in the early evening, when the buildings are lit and the outdoor cafes fill.

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A story
The Monument of Liberty was commissioned after Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, but was not completed until 1908 — three decades later. The delay reflects the political complications of the new Bulgarian state: the statue's classical allegory of freedom, designed by Italian sculptor Arnoldo Zocchi, had to navigate competing ideas about what Bulgarian independence should symbolise and who should be honoured. Zocchi won the commission in competition with Bulgarian artists, which itself caused controversy.

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