For fans of the ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ a tribute in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to its author

Fans of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” can now see some of their favorite characters, unveiled this month in C.S. Lewis Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Lewis wrote the popular children’s fantasy in 1950, the first of seven stories that became the “Chronicles of Narnia.” The first book tells the story of the four Pevensie children who enter the fantastical Narnia through an old wardrobe.

Dusted with snow thanks to an artificial snowstorm, statutes of the White Witch, the lion Aslan, Maugrim, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the Robin, the Stone Table and Mr. Tumnus were revealed on the anniversary of Lewis’ death, Nov. 22, 1963.

The $3-million square honoring the Belfast native features 300 newly planted trees, railway tracks, benches, arches and façade art to give a real sense of the magical and will be used for events and celebrations for crowds of up to 2,000 people.

The square is part of a $40-million greenway project that is planned to create a five-mile linear park in the east side of the Northern Ireland capital.

Lewis was a professor of medieval and renaissance literature and also a theologian. He was also the author of more than three dozen books, including “The Screwtape Letters,” which explores such topics as temptation and sin through 31 letters written by Demon Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood.

Lewis married Joy Gresham in 1956; she died of cancer in 1960. Their story, fictionalized, was told in the 1993 movie “Shadowlands,” starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. Greshman’s son, Douglas Gresham, spoke at the unveiling of his stepfather’s square in Belfast.

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