Monument to the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885

Location: Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Completed: 1985

Designers: Velichko Minekov (sculptor) and Lozan Lozanov (architect)

Genre: Socialist monument, former Eastern Bloc

The monument celebrates the unification of Eastern Rumelia with the recently formed Principality of Bulgaria on 6th September 1885. Previously, Eastern Rumelia, of which Plovdiv was the capital, was an autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire. It was created in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 by the Treaty of Berlin, which was signed on 13th July 1878. Bulgarian citizens considered the decision of the treaty to be unjust and after a series of public demonstrations, revolts in some Eastern Rumelia towns and a coup backed by Alexander of Battenberg, the first knyaz (prince) of the Principality of Bulgaria, the region was reunited with the rest of the country. The monument symbolised unity with a young Bulgarian girl with wings holding a victory wreath in her hands. More information about Bulgaria’s communist-era monuments and memorials.