Monument of Mother Bulgaria
Hi everyone,
We've been at Veliko Tarnovo for more than a week now, and we noticed some students habit. One of them is the meeting point in the city. Near the centre of the city, there is a place where every bus stop at, it's the monument of Mother Bulgaria. But this monument is not just a meeting place, it's also a place to remember the important years of Bulgaria. On each side of the monument, there is a date. On the top of the monument, we can see a woman how holds a flag. She also has a crown. What's surprising about this crown is that it was stolen 2 times before during riot or invasion. But after the threat was gone, the crown was put back. One of the inhabitants told us that they were now waiting for the crown to be stolen once again.
On the first face, the years of 1877-78 are written. It corresponds to a war between Russia and Turkey. During this war, Bulgaria was militarily occupied by Russia for 2 years. It's also with this war that Bulgaria started to be independent from the Ottoman rule. At the end of this war, a national day was created, the 3rd of March.
On
the second face, the year of 1885 is written. It was a war between Serbia and
Bulgaria. Bulgaria wanted to annex Eastern Rumelia, what's known now to be the
south of Bulgaria. But by doing that, the king of Serbia wanted territorial
compensation. The war was then declared but Serbia got defeated. In the end,
Bulgaria managed to annex Eastern Rumelia.
On the third face, the years of 1912-13 are written. This was the Balkan War. this war was between the Ottomans and the allies composed of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro. In 1912, a secret treaty was signed between the allies to partition Macedonia and Thrace. But the lines weren't precisely defined. When the Ottomans refused to put those changes into actions, the war broke out. The Ottomans were pushed by the allies and got defeated. As a result, Bulgaria extended its lands to the south.
On the last face, the years of 1915 to 1918 are written. This was the first Wold War. In 1914, Bulgaria declared neutrality to recover from the Balkan war. Then, Bulgaria joined the axis and invaded Serbia in 1915. In this war, Bulgaria made significant contributions when you consider the fact that it was the smallest country on the Axis side. But Bulgaria was defeated in 1918 by the Allied based in Greece due to a lack of will to continue.
We will see this monument a lot during our stay in Veliko Tarnovo and also refer to it as much. Also knowing a little bit about the history is fascinating and will help us understand the art.
Thanks for reading!
Firmin