site.btaAnniversary of Hungarian National Revolution of 1848 Marked in Chiprovtsi

Bulgarians and Hungarians in Chiprovtsi Monday marked the anniversary of the Hungarian National Revolution of 1848-1849, Chiprovtsi Mayor Plamen Petkov told BTA.

Wreaths and flowers were laid at the monument to Colonel Stefan Dunjov in Chiprovtsi. The ceremony was attended by Hungarian Ambassador to Bulgaria Miklos Boros, Hungarian Cultural Institute Sofia head Szandra Miskedi, the heads of the Municipality and Deputy Regional Governor of Montana Kalin Haitov, as well as citizens and students of Chiprovtsi.

Stefan Dunjov is a descendant of an old family from Chiprovtsi that emigrated to Banat after the defeat of the Chiprov Uprising in 1688. Chiprovtsi Mayor Petkov recalled that Dunjov was a first associate of the leaders of the Hungarian national revolution, Lajos Kossuth and Sandor Petofi, and was revered as a national hero in Hungary. After the defeat of the revolution in 1850, Stefan Dunjov went to Italy, where he was made a colonel by Garibaldi and is considered the first Bulgarian colonel in history. He died in Italy in 1889.