site.btaNational Hero Vasil Levski’s 150th Death Anniversary to Be Marked in 2023

The 150th death anniversary of Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom fighter Vasil Levski will be marked in 2023. A series of cultural, scientific and educational events throughout the year in Bulgaria and around the world will pay tribute to the memory of the Apostle of Freedom, as Levski is known.

On 21 December 2022, the caretaker cabinet adopted a National Programme with specific events and initiatives to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Vasil Levski. In November, the composition of the National Initiative Committee was approved. Its chairman is the Minister of Culture. Among its members are the Minister of Education and Science, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a representative of the Holy Synod, the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) Dr. Julian Revalski, the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova, the Rector of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" Prof. Anastas Gerdzhikov, Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Kiril Valchev, relatives of Vasil Levski, public figures, lecturers and journalists.

BTA will participate in the commemoration of the anniversary by promoting the initiatives in the agency's national press clubs. 

Among the events planned for 2023 is a documentary exhibition on the occasion of the anniversary of the Apostle's death and a multimedia installation that will present in an interactive way key and influential moments in the life of Vasil Levski.

BAS, together with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad, will prepare digital lessons dedicated to the personality and work of Levski. Under the title "I, one of the Apostle's descendants", the Education Ministry will organize various initiatives in schools in the country, while Bulgarian schools abroad will also be invited to participate.

The Archives State Agency will create a website dedicated to Vasil Levski, which will include digital images of letters from the Apostle, his photographs, objects and more.

The south-central Municipality of Karlovo will declare 2023 the Year of Vasil Levski and a memorial website will be created. Throughout the year, the Vasil Levski National Museum in the Apostle's hometown of Karlovo will hold lessons on the museum's educational programs with children from Bulgaria and abroad, in a real environment and online. The museum will also host a student discussion - seminar "Memory of the Apostle", during which students and PhD students will present their work.

 The Ministry of Defence will design a commemorative medal dedicated to the anniversary. 

Born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev on July 18, 1837, Vasil Levski was a Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom fighter, who is a national hero in Bulgaria. Dubbed the Apostle of Freedom, Levski organized a revolutionary movement to liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. He founded the Internal Revolutionary Organisation with the goal of sparking a nationwide uprising.

He joined the two Bulgarian Legions in Serbia and other Bulgarian revolutionary groups abroad, where he got the nickname Levski ("Lionlike"). During his tours of Bulgaria, Levski established a broad network of committees. Ottoman authorities, however, caught wind of the revolutionary and captured him at an inn near Lovech (northern Bulgaria) and executed him by hanging on the outskirts of Sofia on February 18, 1873. His grave remains unknown to this day, but a monument was erected in the location where he was hanged, which is now in central Sofia.