Standing among the graves of well-known Bulgarian artists, Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov presented a project to create an Artists' Walk at Sofia's Central Graveyard.

The project, with a cost estimated at 300 000 leva, was the proposal of architect Zdravets Haytov and artist Alexander Haytov, sons of  Bulgarian fiction writer, playwright, patriot and publicist Nikolay Haytov.

The two ha park was to be separated from the rest of the Central Graveyard by five metre-high hedges and be accessible through a special metal gate. 

A central element in the park would be a rotunda with four sculptures representing various art forms. A 50-metre long, 12 metre wide alley would have walls for urns.

Work on the park could start immediately, according to Rashidov, as the necessary funding had been secured from the Culture Ministry budget.

Rashidov said that he hoped that the park would become a place to pay tribute to the country's renowned artists.

"The attitude of a society towards the dead is a measure of its morality," a ministry media statement quoted Rashidov as saying.

"Whenever I travel abroad, I visit the local cemetery. I love the Père-Lachaise in Paris, which is busy even at night," Rashidov said.

"One night, with artist Nikola Manev, we decided to bring flowers to the grave of Édith Piaf. We waited for nearly 10 minutes 200 metres from the grave, because in front of it, a young couple was kissing. A unique view! People feel love there," Rashidov said.