Postal Envelope and Card Issued to Commemorate Pleven Epopee

A postal envelope and a card were issued in Central Bulgaria’s city of Pleven on 22nd of November to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Pleven Epopee (the Seige of Pleven) and the Liberation of the city. A special guest at the ceremony was Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha (former King and more recently, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria), whose grandfather, Prince Ferdinand, was among the founders of the Pleven Museum of Military History 110 years ago.

Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, along with Deputy Minister of Transport, Dimitar Genovski; the Mayor of Pleven, Georg Spartanski; and the former Mayor of Pleven, Roumen Petkov, put the validation stamp on the postal documents. In honour of the occasion, the Mayor of Pleven presented a special plaque to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for his personal commitment to the residents of Pleven and for his support of the anniversary celebrations.

The envelope and postcard validation took place in the Pleven Museum, alongside an exhibition of awarded works from the National Children's Contest dedicated to the Pleven Epopee. The winners in the categories for painting, essay and song received plaques and certificates from a jury member, the famous Bulgarian artist, acad. Svetlin Russev.

“I have always said and will say it again, that if we do not remember the past, there can hardly be a future. And the future is what these children represent. It's wonderful, there is such creativity, and success, and we honour them,“ Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha said.

The Siege of Pleven (Russian: Plevna) took place between July 20 and December 10, 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The Russian forces laid siege to the Turkish-held Bulgarian town and four battles were fought, three being repulses of Russian attacks and the fourth being a defeat of the Turks in their attempt to escape. The victory on 10 December, 1877 was decisive for the outcome of the war and the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.