site.btaBulgaria Commemorates Freedom Fighter Vasil Levski

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Bulgaria is honouring its greatest national hero Vasil Levski (1837-1873) on the 152nd anniversary of his death.

Revered as "the Apostle of Freedom", Levski is arguably the most influential Bulgarian revolutionary leader in the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule in the late 19th century and one of the few truly undisputed national heroes, whom Bulgarians hold dear to their hearts.

Levski laid the foundations of Bulgarian ethnic tolerance, insisting that concord, brotherhood and equality of all ethnic groups must prevail in post-Liberation Bulgaria. He argued that, once free, his country's form of government should be a "pure and sacred republic". He wanted Bulgarians to advance on a par with the rest of Europe's nations, maintaining good relations with all their neighbours.

Levski was hanged on the outskirts of Sofia on February 18, 1873.

The two-day annual commemoration of the hero's death is due to a persistent misdating. For some time now, the anniversary has been marked on February 18 in a number of locations countrywide, including Levski's native Karlovo, while the principal ceremony takes place on the 19th at a monument in central Sofia marking the site where the patriot was hanged.