Bulgaria celebrates 187th birth anniversary of national hero Vasil Levski

published on 7/18/24 6:20 AM

The monument of Vasil Levski in Karlovo.

Photo: BTA

Self-sacrifice, honesty, courage and a strong belief in Bulgaria's right to national freedom and dignity: these are the characteristics of one of Bulgaria's most beloved national heroes - Vasil Levski, the Apostle of Freedom.

The 187th anniversary of his birth will be marked on July 18, but the celebrations began on July 11 at the hero's monument in Pleven, where the 30th National March "In the Footsteps of the Apostle" started.

250 participants from Bulgaria and abroad, including Bulgarians living in the USA and England, as well as British, Serbian and Austrian hikers, took part in the challenge to cross the ridge of the central part of the Balkan Mountains.

The idea for the commemorative march was born in 1994, when Vasil Kopchev, a history teacher from Pleven, set off from the Troyan Monastery and walked to Sopot and Karlovo to visit the places where the Apostle organised his revolutionary activities.

In the following years the historical route attracted others. Today it is an event not only for ardent patriots, but also for admirers of Bulgarian nature.

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Traditionally, the march ends in Levski's hometown of Karlovo on 18 July, where all participants will be given a ceremonial welcome in Vasil Levski Square. They will take part in the events dedicated to the 187th anniversary, organised under the patronage of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. July 18 is also an official holiday in the city and the National Museum Vasil Levski-Karlovo is one of the main institutions involved in the events.

"The programme is very rich, it started ten days before the date," Dora Chausheva, director of the National Museum "Vasil Levski-Karlovo", told Radio Bulgaria. The museum will host some of the events. On July 18, there will be a literary salon and the opening of the exhibition "Witnesses of a Legendary Life". The exhibits are part of the museum's collection and present places in the town associated with Vasil Levski, some of which can still be visited by guests of Karlovo, others no longer exist, but are described in the research of the former director of the Museum of Local History, Dr Stoyan Kitchev.

Our special guests will be the participants of the national march "In the Footsteps of the Apostle". The traditional awards of the "Vasil Levski" Karlovo Committee and the "Vasil Levski" Foundation will be presented. And our Museum will visit the Chudomir Art and Literature Museum in Kazanlak with the exhibition "Places of Memory (1873-1933) - Dimensions of the Heroic Image of Levski" of the Institute of Historical Studies and the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The exhibition can be seen until the end of July.

The Chudomir Museum will also present the series of collections "Vasil Levski. Documents" and "Vasil Levski", which the National Museum "Vasil Levski" - Karlovo has been working on for the last 4 years.

We look forward to welcoming many guests to Karlovo during these summer days, whether they are coming on purpose for these events or are passing through on their tourist routes through the Rose Valley.

The official programme for 18 July in Karlovo will culminate in a ceremony to raise the flag of the Karlovo Revolutionary Committee, followed by a celebratory rally and fireworks in the central square.

Photos: BTA, Facebook/muzeilevski

Posted and translated by Elizabeth Radkova

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