Karlovo is the heart of celebrations marking 186 years since the birth of national hero Vasil Levski

On July 18, Bulgaria marks 186 years since the birth of one of its biggest national heroes, Vasil Levski.

The town of Karlovo, the birthplace of Vasil Levski, is the centre of the celebrations marking the anniversary.

The celebrations began with a solemn Holy Mass in the St. Nicholas Church in Karlovo. Flowers and wreaths were laid on the grave of his mother - Gina Kuncheva.

Image by BTA

The participants in the national tourist march "In the Footsteps of the Apostle" were greeted at “Vasil Levski” Square.

Pavel Kopchev: "We come back every year because there are some young people here who want to feel the emotion - both of the Balkan and of something really pure, only Bulgarian."

Mariela Pudeva: "Following in the Apostle's footsteps, you feel like him. You want to be like him. To be unconditionally militant in the name of Bulgaria, because this is the work of every Bulgarian. And it shouldn't be just on this date. We should be proud to be Bulgarians."

Mariana Krasteva: "To know who we are, to know where we are going and to defend our interests."

A meeting of the participants in the initiative "150 Lessons about Vasil Levski" took place in Vasil Karaivanov Hall. Later, the awards of the "Vasil Levski" Foundation and the "Vasil Levski" Committee were presented in "Vasil Levski" museum.

As part of the tradition, in the evening, the flag of the Karlovo Revolutionary Committee will be taken out of the Vasil Levski Museum and carried in a procession to Vasil Levski Square.

At 21.00, a solemn ceremony, including a fireworks display, will be held Vasil Levski square.

The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev will receive the honorary formation of representative units of the Bulgarian Army.

He will deliver a speech and pay tribute at the monument to the Apostle of Freedom.

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Vasil 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 the Apostle of Freedom by the Bulgatrian people for his self-sacrifice in developing a strategy to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

Vasil 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.