140 Years of the Serbo-Bulgarian War

On the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the National Museum of Military History (NMMH) opened the exhibition “When Unity Won”, which will be open to visitors at the end of the month.
The event was attended by the Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov, Deputy Minister of Defence Radostin Vasilev, Chair of the Defence Committee in the National Assembly Hristo Gadzhev, Commander of the Land Forces Major General Deyan Deshkov, Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces Command Brigadier General Hristo Hristov, Director of the Military Police Service Col. Hristiyan Hristov, representatives of the political and military leadership of the Ministry of Defence, senior officers, and friends of the Museum.
Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov emphasized that this event marks the beginning of the anniversary celebrations and that the Serbo-Bulgarian War is a source of national and military pride, because the young Bulgarian army defended the cause of the Unification in an impressive way, surprising not only the adversary, but also the Great Powers. He emphasised that the victory was achieved solely with our own resources and stressed that numerical superiority does not necessarily determine the outcome of a battle or a war, far more important are moral strength, self-sacrifice, the dedication of the Bulgarian soldier and, not least, the talent of Bulgarian commanders. The Minister congratulated the NMMH team for the exhibition and highlighted the importance of preserving the memory of the heroism of the Bulgarian army in order to inspire the modern builders of Bulgaria’s armed forces.
“This war is one of the significant events in our history and a major step toward our national unification. A step that not only solidifies what happened on 6 September 1885 Unification, but also redraws the map of the Balkans and the entire European Southeast for a long period. We are used to measuring this war through the heroism and dedication of the army, the volunteers, and the entire people and often forget its consequences – Bulgaria emerges as a serious geopolitical factor in the Balkans, which Europe must take into account,” said the Director of the NMMH, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sonya Penkova. She emphasized that the history of the Museum itself is connected to this war, as the idea of establishing a military museum was born in its aftermath. It was not realized due to the modesty of Bulgarian officers, who believed that this might be perceived as an attempt to immortalize their own achievements. Nevertheless and partly because of this, the Serbo-Bulgarian War is very well represented both in the permanent exhibition of the NMMH and in this exhibition, which brings together significant artefacts of the Bulgarian army from both sides of the Balkan Mountains, symbolic emblems such as flags, and the personal belongings of participants in the war, many of whom future generals.
Since maintenance works are currently underway and the Museum is closed to visitors, the exhibition will be open for viewing at the end of the month, when the NMMH will reopen and as a gesture to the public, the Museum will offer two days of free admission.