Skobelev Park – Museum

Cultural Monument of National Significance

Skobelev Park is a memorial park and museum established between 1904 and 1907 on the initiative of the Tsar Liberator Alexander II Committee, chaired by Stoyan Zaimov. The park is located in the southwestern part of Pleven, on the battlefield where the detachment of General Mikhail D. Skobelev fought and where the fiercest battles of the Third Assault on Pleven took place on 11–12 September 1877. At the Green Heights, approximately 6,500 soldiers of General Skobelev’s 13,000-strong detachment lost their lives. Since then, the valley through which the Zelenogorski Stream flows has been known as the “Valley of the Dead”.

At the centre of the park stands a mass grave (ossuary mound), where the remains of the heroes who fell during the Third Assault on Pleven on 11–12 September 1877 are preserved. Russian and Ottoman cannons are displayed on the mound, while a St. George Cross for Bravery crowns its summit. At the centre of the ossuary rests a marble sarcophagus containing the remains of Russian soldiers from General Skobelev’s detachment. Marble medallions on the interior walls bear the names of the regiments that fought under General Skobelev during the battles of 11 and 12 September 1877.

Adjacent to the ossuary is the restored Ottoman Issa Agha Redoubt. Nine mass graves and monuments located on and around the redoubt commemorate the heroes who fought in the Battles of Pleven.

The park was built entirely through donations from the Bulgarian people. At the entrance stand a bust of General Mikhail D. Skobelev and a memorial plaque describing the construction of the park. The main entrance is decorated with the barrels of Russian cannons. On either side of the entrance are 24-pounder cannons from the battery positioned at the command post of Tsar Alexander II near the village of Radishevo. The park fence was constructed in 1904 to a design by Major Engineer Selyanovski and was redesigned in 1907 according to the plans of P. Deyanov. The park itself was designed by Jules Lochet, director of the royal parks in Sofia, and executed by D. Gyulemetov. The main alley is paved with multicoloured river pebbles arranged in mosaic patterns inspired by traditional Bulgarian embroidery. Original artillery pieces from the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 are displayed in batteries around the ossuary mound and along the main avenue.

Skobelev Park was officially inaugurated together with the Tsar Liberator Alexander II House Museum and the St. George the Victorious Chapel-Mausoleum on 16 September 1907, in the presence of Prince Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, distinguished guests from Russia, ministers, members of parliament, and citizens and visitors of Pleven.

From 1908 to 1932, Skobelev Park housed the administration of Bulgaria’s Military History House Museums, Memorial Parks and Monuments.

Visits are available by prior arrangement by phone: +359 64 830 251