Bulgaria commemorates the Apostle of Freedom, Vassil Levski

On 19th February, 2022, Bulgaria honours the memory of the national hero, Vasil Levski (Vasil Ivanov Kounchev) and marks 149 years since the day he was hung.

Vassil Levski was a leading figure in the fight of the Bulgarian people against Ottoman rule in the late 19th century.

He was a revolutionary, democrat, ideologist, organizer and leader of the Bulgarian national liberation movement, founder of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation (IRO) and of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC).

He was called the Apostle of Freedom by the Bulgarian people for his self-sacrifice in developing a strategy to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

Vassil Levski organised the revolutionary movement across Bulgaria for several years. He established numerous revolutionary committees and started preparing the people for a general uprising.

Betrayed by a traitor, he was captured by the Ottoman authorities and was executed by hanging on 18th of February 1873 in the outskirts of Sofia.

Every year on this day, thousands of people pay tribute to the national hero and lay wreaths and flowers to the monuments dedicated to him all across the country.

Memorial services, processions, film showing, fireworks and other events are organised across the country throughout the day to mark the occasion.

A commemoration ceremony was held in the Apostle's hometown of Karlovo last night.

President Rumen Radev, Vice President Iliyana Iotova and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova jointly honoured the memory of the Apostle of Freedom in Sofia on February 19.

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More and more historians are opting for marking the anniversary of the death of Levski on 18th rather than 19th of February. The confusion was due to a technical error in switching from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. That is why celebrations take place on both days.

Images by Dessislava Kulelieva