The halls recount the place of the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire and their 15th–19th century efforts to overthrow the foreign rule.
The two main stages of the Bulgarian liberation movements are examined: grass-root resistance against the Ottoman authorities, with an emphasis on the hajduk movement and its transformation from a form of resistance to an element of the national liberation struggles, and the organized effort for the liberation of the Bulgarian lands. The historical account is embodied in the authentic objects – relics of some of the most prominent names in the national liberation movement: Ilarion Makariopolski, Dimitar Petrovich, Georgi Rakovski, Vasil Levski, Panayot Hitov, Ilyo Voivoda, Zhelo Voivoda, Stefan Stambolov, Panayot Volov, Georgi Benkovski, Stoil Voivoda, Hristo Botev, Petko Frangov, etc. Special attention had been given to the greatest and most heroic action of the Bulgarian national liberation revolution – the April Uprising (1876), the blood-thursty repression of which paved the path to Bulgaria’s freedom.
The theme is illustrated with a wealth of cultural valuables – evidence from the period, as well as personal belongings of some of the most renowned freedom fighters. These include specimen of Ottoman and Western European bladed weapons, as well as early firearms, weapons of hajduk voivode and of organizers of rebellions and uprisings.
