Vasil Levski Monument

The Vasil Levski Monument in Sofia stands in the city centre at the intersection of Vasil Levski and Yanko Sakazov boulevards, near Moskovska Street. It was erected in 1895 at the place where Vasil Levski was executed in 1873. The monument is 13 metres high and consists of a column with a bronze relief portrait of the Apostle of Freedom, created by the Czech sculptor František Novák. Local people come every December to pay their respects at the monument and honour the hero. Construction began in 1878, but work stopped because of a lack of funding and organisation. In 1884, a commission was formed that successfully raised money and completed the monument in 1895. It cost 70,000 gold leva, but drew criticism for waste and negligence in the management of funds. Situated in central Sofia, the monument has attracted thousands of admirers over the years and become a symbol of the national hero Vasil Levski.