The “Joyful Wedding” geological reserve is a masterpiece of nature. But there is a legend among the people about the petrified wedding guests. I have a legend told by Stojan Jankov Tokmak, as well as by the brothers Dragomir and Miron from the village. Kuklica, who heard it from their grandmothers Persa and Tova. In the village of Kuklica lived a builder, a master builder of houses. He was a great master, and at the same time he was a great liar. He decided to get married. There were Gorno and Dolno maalo in the village. The master scheduled a wedding for the two Stojanki on the same day. Stojanka from Dolno Maalo was very rich – they had sheep, cattle, poppies, cotton, hemp, but she was not beautiful. Stojanka from Gorno Maalo, on the other hand, was poor, but very beautiful. Stojan decided to marry Stojanka from Dolno Maalo.
When she heard drums and bagpipes, Stojanka from Gorno Maalo was surprised why the matchmakers did not come to her, so she decided to go down to Dolno Maalo and check what was happening. She saw the wedding and realized that the master had decided to take the richer Stojanka. Then she uttered the curse: “May God give you all to be petrified, even you and me!” The moment the newlyweds kissed, the curse came true and all the wedding guests were petrified.
The petrified wedding guests still testify to the anger and pain of the unhappy girl. The villagers call the place “Merry Wedding” because the wedding guests remained smiling and the newlyweds froze in a gentle embrace. Because of these petrified “dolls” the place got its name – Doll. With a little imagination, any visitor can fill in the gaps in the story, because it is not known what happened to the girl who threw the curse. Locals say that their ancestors tried to break the curse of the girl in love, but failed. There are 148 dolls in the reserve, or earthen pyramids. The people have given each doll a role (for example, there is a godfather, an old man, an uncle, an aunt, a son-in-law…).
There was a lake in the area where the dolls were. With the outflow of the lake, their modeling begins, which continues to this day under the influence of geo-exogenous factors.
Fossil remains of dendro-flora, petrified trees were found in the Kuklica geological reserve. This gives weight to the reserve, as it makes this reserve one of the only three reserves in the world (the other two are in Chemnitz and Lesbos – Greece).
In the vicinity of the geological reserve, more precisely near Gorni Kukli, there is volcanic mud, where scientists from the Institute of Geology from Bochum give advice to make baths in which volcanic mud will be used for rheumatic diseases – bones, joints, shoulders…
Scientists say that stone figures were created ten million years ago, when there were still no people on the planet. The vertical erosion of volcanic rocks created “dolls” ten meters high, which still dominate the tame environment. Over time, nature has sculpted rare masterpieces from them. However, such a “wedding” is nowhere in the world.
Locals say that every five to six years, in both Gorno and Dolno Maalo, the two sites that are divided by a hill, a new figure sprouts. “The most impressive are the bride and groom, who are accompanied by the brother-in-law and the bridesmaid. “They are the biggest and they look each other in the eye,” said the villagers.