site.btaToday's Observances: August 26-27

August 26

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1886: Prince Alexander I of Battenberg definitively abdicates Bulgarian throne.

1934: Unveiling of monument on Mt Shipka commemorating Battle of Shipka during Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).

1947: Sixth Grand National Assembly outlaws Nikola Petkov Bulgarian Agrarian National Union.

1990: Former Communist Party headquarters in Sofia are set on fire.

1991: Bulgaria recognizes independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

2005: National Assembly elects 18 MPs as observers at European Parliament.

August 27

The world:

- National Day of Moldova: Independence Day (1991).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1877: First telephone link in Bulgaria is tested in the northern village of Pordim, between Russian army headquarters and Russian commanders in Russo-Turkish War.

1895: Tourism is born as an organized movement. More than 300 people join the first mass ascend of Cherni Vrah, the highest point in Vitosha Mountain near Sofia.

1920: Diplomatic relations with France are restored at the level of legations (severed September 22, 1915). Originally established July 8, 1879; promoted to embassy level December 17, 1963.

1946: The Border Troops force is set up.

1999: The tomb of Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov in downtown Sofia is demolished after several failed attempts. The mausoleum was built in seven days in July 1948. It was opened to visitors in 1949. Dimitrov's remains are interred in July 1990.