Lions have not been seen in the Bulgarian lands since Antiquity or the early Middle Ages, when the last species were hunted down to extinction. And yet, the lion is embedded in the Bulgarian consciousness as a national symbol. The first lions in early Bulgarian art appear in reliefs, from Madara and Stara Zagora, dated back to the 8th-10th centuries. A standing lion was depicted as the heraldic symbol of the king of Bulgaria as early as 1295, and later a similar image appeared in Western collections of coats-of-arms. Even while Bulgaria was under the Ottomans, the lion remained strongly connected with it in heraldry, its position unchanged with time: the animal is standing, facing to the left.

Lion with shield with fascia branches, a symbol of unity, on the facade of Ministry of Interior

This was how the lion looked, too, in the 1741 Stemmatographia, a book of engraved coats-of-arms, by Bulgarian artist Hristofor Zhefarovich. The book advertised the idea of freedom and unification of Slavs under the Ottomans. When the Bulgarian independence movement gained momentum in the 19th century, the lion was already a symbol of liberty. It was on the stamps of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, which was busy preparing a revolution, and on the banners of the rebels of the 1876 April Uprising, together with the slogan: "Freedom or Death."

Even Bulgaria's greatest hero of the time, Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (1837-1873), has a leonine connection. He was nicknamed Levski, or Lion-like, after a brave jump over a wide moat.

A replica of the medieval lions found in Stara Zagora decorates the gates of the Presidency

It is hardly a surprise that the lion remained popular in independent Bulgaria. One or three of them have been adorning the national coat-of-arms ever since. However, through the years there have been some changes. Between 1948 and 1990, the lion on the coat-of-arms was adorned with a Communist five-pointed star. Today the three lions on it are crowned.

The national currency is also called lev, or lion – similarly to Romania and Albania, which sport the leu and the lek respectively.

Logically, lions command a heavy presence in the architecture of Sofia, where they adorn administrative, educational and government institutions, and even some private houses.

Lion's Bridge

The first large-scale lions in Sofia symbolising freedom were the four bronze beasts on Lavov Most, or Lion's Bridge, over the Vladayska River. Today the bridge is in the centre of Sofia, but in 1889-1891, when it was constructed, it was on the outskirts of the city.

According to the initial plan, Lion's Bridge was devised to be a part of a greater compound. It would have included a monument to four book-sellers from Sofia who participated in the 1876 April Uprising and were executed by the Ottoman authorities on this spot. 

Only the bridge was built, however. The lions were casted by the Vienna-based Waagner Biro AG company. The project's cost of 260,000 golden leva, an astronomical amount at the time, and soon a joke started to circulate in Sofia: the lions lacked tongues so that they could not tell citizens how much money was nicked by corrupt contractors. 

National Theatre

A stunning lion pack appeared in Sofia in 1905: the six bronze lions on the roof of the ornate National Theatre. Divided in two groups, they drag the chariots of two Nikes. 

The sculptures were designed and made by another Viennese contractor, the Hellmer & Fellner architectural atelier.

Palace of Justice

The pair of bronze lions that guard the grand staircase of the Palace of Justice are known to all residents and visitors of Sofia. They are a popular meeting place and are often in the background of media coverage of protests or important cases taking place at this location. 

Sometimes they are even used to send political messages. In 2013, for example, one of the lions was painted as a joker, a not-so-subtle mockery of the condition of the Bulgarian judicial system.

Look closely, and you will notice an oddity: the gait of the lion on the left is anatomically impossible. Its legs are plainly in the wrong position.

Sofia University Library

The orbs in the paws of two lions at the entrance of Sofia University's central library do not represent global dominance – they are symbols of knowledge instead. The pair was made in 1932 by a fresh graduate of Bulgaria's Academy of Art, Lyuben Dimitrov. Later, he would become a prominent sculptor who worked on many public projects. 

Reportedly, he was not happy with the craftsmanship of his library lions, but they remain a charming detail of Sofia's urbanscape.

Monument of the Unknown Soldier

The Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Sofia is a focus of official and tourist activities – visiting dignitaries lay flowers at the Eternal Flame, and children climb a larger-than-life yet weary lion of bronze, while visitors take selfies with it.

The lion, arguably the most beautiful in Sofia's pack, was designed by sculptor Andrey Nikolov in the 1930s, as a symbol of the youth and strength of Bulgaria.

The monument and the lion were unveiled in 1941, after years of debate and procrastination. After the Communists took over, they decided the statue was too fascist. The beautiful lion was dismantled and moved around Sofia until it ended up in the National Military Museum.

In 1981, however, the Monument of the Unknown Soldier went to a complete reconstruction, and the lion was brought back to its original place. 

Ministry of Interior

The stone statue of a lion that guards the official entrance of the Ministry of Interior prowls at an invisible prey in a pose all cat lovers will instantly recognise. 

It was designed by Mihail Mihaylov in the 1930s and is part of the original decoration of the ministry's modernist layout. Sadly, Labour and Meeting, the two frescoes that adorned the wall behind the wall, by prominent artist Dechko Uzunov, have not been preserved.

The lion's features are a triumph of simplicity and clean lines. It is hard to believe that their author also made the more realistic, almost baroque, lion that now stands in NDK garden.

Bulgarian National Bank

With its white walls, cubic shapes, and clever details (a strange balcony, an unexpected statue of St Nicholas), the building of the Bulgarian National Bank is an outstanding example of interwar modernism in Bulgaria. For most Sofianites and visitors of the city, however, the building is most recognisable as one of the few places in the city centre where they can get a gulp of free water. It sprouts (when it works, that is) from a small bronze lion head. It was made in 1939, along with the entire building.

Lion in NDK square

In 2017, a statue of a lion holding a shield with a depiction of "Greater Bulgaria" appeared on the site of the recently demolished 1,300 Years of Bulgaria Monument, in the square of the National Palace of Culture. 

The lion was not new. It was part of a larger memorial to Sofianites who perished in the wars that Bulgaria waged between 1885-1918, and was designed by Mihail Mihaylov. The memorial stood beside the former barracks of Sofia's garrison, but the entire area was demolished in the 1970s to make room for the People's Palace of Culture, as the NDK was known at the time, and the 1,300 Years of Bulgaria monument. The soldiers' memorial, along with the lion, was moved to the National Military Museum and promptly forgotten.

The return of the lion caused contention. Some people insist that the whole soldiers' memorial should be returned and reinstalled, while Greece officially protested against the map on the shield – it includes territories that Bulgarians historically consider their own, but have been part of Greece proper since 1913.