site.btaBulgaria Pays Tribute to National Hero Hristo Botev, All Those Fallen for Country's Liberation

On June 2, Bulgaria pays tribute to the feat of Hristo Botev and to the thousands of known and unknown heroes who died for the Motherland. The day is marked with a number of events across the country and two minutes of silence, signalled by sirens across the country which will begin at 12 pm.

When the signal is given, all pedestrians and road vehicles of the country should cease their movement on the streets and squares, remaining on the spot.

Since 1901, Bulgaria has been officially marking the anniversary of Botev's heroic death on June 2. Every year on this day, at 12 noon, two minutes of silence, signalled by sirens across the country, are observed in remembrance of Botev and the fallen for the country's freedom and independence. The day was first marked in the cities of Vratsa and Plovdiv in 1884. Botev died in the Balkan Range near Vratsa, leading a detachment of Bulgarian insurgents to participate in what has become known as the April Uprising of 1876. The detachment fought several battles with Ottoman troops but the circumstances of Botev's death on May 20 (New Style June 2), have never been cleared up. Bulgarians, then part of the Ottoman Empire since 1396, embarked on their most massive attempt to regain their independence, known in history as the April Uprising, on April 20, 1876.