Monument of Bulgarian volunteers

The monument of the Bulgarian volunteer units (so-called “opulchentsi”) who fought with the Russian Army against Ottoman Turkey in the Bulgarian Liberation War of 1877-78 is located behind the Military Club. It is a seven-meter-high bronze monument – a copy of the famous painting of Jaroslav Veshin “The Samara Flag” (1911).

At the base of the monument, there are four bas-reliefs – one on each side in the shape of a military bravery cross.

Three of the bas-relief represent the famous paintings “The Battle for Eagle’s Nest Peak”, “The Consecration of the Samara Flag”, and “The Climbing of the Balkan Mounts”, whereas the fourth one on the back of the monument is a map of the route of the Bulgarian volunteer units during the war.

Twelve artillery cartridge cases with the names of the thousands of Bulgarian volunteer fighters are built into the monument. They contain soil from the places of their most decisive battles during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.

The monument was officially opened in downtown Sofia 131 years after the fiercest battles at the Shipka Pass. On the side, next to the monument, there is a stone from Shipka Pass that was brought to Sofia and it is also a part of the Monument of the Bulgarian Volunteers.

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