The exhibition “Worthy of Freedom” is dedicated to the thousands of Bulgarians who took part in the Russo-Turkish War and won Bulgaria’s freedom. Visitors can follow in the footsteps of the Bulgarian army, meet famous and little known heroes who laid their lives for Bulgaria’s freedom, or look into the eyes of dozens of soldiers – participants in the battles for Stara Zagora, Shipka, and Sheynovo.
The relics – witnesses to the events that unfolded 144 years ago, remind of the feat of the Bulgarian Volunteer Corps and of other forms of participation in the war – through volunteer detachments, medical assistance, translation services, etc.
Some of the more notable exhibits include a revolver and a pocket watch, of Father Petar Draganov – the priest who blessed the Samara flag; a sword, a rifle, an archive, and decorations, of Dr. Konstantin Bonev – the chief physician of the Bulgarian military; a sword given by General Gurko in award to Hadji Stoyu Mikhov, who served as a translator in the Russian commander’s headquarters. The only surviving flag of a Bulgarian volunteer cheta from the war, the weapons of Ilyo Markov, Panayot Hitov, Hristo Ivanov – Golemiya [the Big], and Simo Sokolov, are among the artifacts that had preserved through the years the memory of the dedication of the voevode who covered the flanks of the Russian army carrying out combat and reconnaissance actions on a broad front. The exhibition also includes relics associated with Bulgarians who would later emerge as some of the country’s foremost military leaders: the patriarch of the Bulgarian army, Danail Nikolaev, wounded in the Russo-Turkish War; the future generals Ivan Sarafov and Nikola Genev.
Freedom, examined through the respect for the Bulgarians whose efforts and sacrifice led to the positive end of the war, is represented by some of the commemorative flags prepared by public committees and silver cups gifted by the Russian emperor to the surviving volunteers on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Russo-Turkish War.
