site.btaNational Museum of Military History to Display Items Received in 2024

The National Museum of Military History (NMMH) in Sofia will show some of the most fascinating items added to its collection in 2024. The exhibition, dubbed Memory for the Future, will open on January 30, the museum said on Monday.

The exhibition is a sign of gratitude to the NMMH donors, some of whom are heirs to people who played a role in Bulgarian history, while others are simply individuals who chose to share things from their own collections. There are also exhibits provided by the Ministry of Defence and other institutions, and objects purchased by the museum.

In 2024, the NMMH received over 800 cultural assets spanning a period of more than 140 years, and some of them will be displayed in the upcoming exhibition. These include military uniforms of a General Staff colonel and of an artillery officer of the same rank that will take viewers back to the early years of building the Bulgarian state and the armed forces after the Bulgarians' liberation from Ottoman Turkish rule in 1876. Another curious exhibit is an 1877 Order of the Star of Romania.

The story of the past is complemented by a badge worn by a member of the 25th National Assembly (1940-1944), a 1906 badge of the Union of Non-commissioned Officers, personal belongings and documents of Petar Gachev, a military physician who participated in the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and World War I (1914-1918), a Zeiss Ikon still camera of the 1930s, a Tesla Trio 420U radio set of the 1950s, photos from military missions abroad, medals, weapons and uniforms. Visitors can also see a mobile dressing station and an X-ray vehicle scanner.

During the opening ceremony on January 30, donors will receive certificates and free tickets for a year's admission to the NMMH and its branches.