site.btaRemains of King Ferdinand I Will Be Laid to Rest in Bulgaria

The remains of King Ferdinand I will be returned to Bulgaria, said the King Boris and Queen Givanna Royal Heritage Fund – Vrana Palace. The remains are expected to be transferred to Sofia within a month. 

After his death in Coburg in 1948, the remains of King Ferdinand I were laid temporarily in the crypt of the St Augustin catholic church in the city. In the year of his death it was impossible to bury the king in his second country, Bulgaria, due to the political situation despite his desire and that of his family, the Fund said. 

After democratic changes took hold in the country several initiative committees were set up, but their efforts were fruitless despite their good intentions. Today’s democratic conditions and respect for history allow the remains of King Ferdinand I to be laid to rest in the family vault in his beloved palace Vrana.  

With this move homage will be paid to a long-reigning state leader and commander-in-chief who despite having drawn controversial assessments for some aspects of his rule, has contributed a lot to the development and the modernization of the country, the press release says. 

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria died on September 10, 1948, in Coburg, Germany. He was 87.