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The ceremonial inspection of fireworks on the occasion of 135 years since the Unification of Bulgaria and the celebration of the city of Plovdiv passed under the sign of an extremely strong police presence, said a reporter Plovdiv24.bg.Those wishing to see the event live were subjected to a thorough inspection, initially by checkpoints, police, and later via a scanner.
Official guests included President Rumen Radev, Vice President Iliana Yotova, Plovdiv Regional Governor Dani Kanazireva, Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva, Plovdiv Chief Priest Dyado Nikolay, among others.
Before the eyes of hundreds, if not thousands of Plovdiv residents, representatives of some of the most important institutions in Plovdiv and Bulgaria spoke solemn words.
The ceremony was also attended by a protest march, organized hours before.
The emotions of the disappointed citizens of Plovdiv reached their peak the moment the mayor took the microphone and delivered his solemn speech. During the few minutes that Zdravko Dimitrov delivered his speech, the square resounded with shouts of “Resignation”, boos and shouts of disgruntled citizens.
Plovdiv24.bg brings to the attention of its readers the entire speech of Mayor Zdravko Dimitrov, which was otherwise difficult to reach the audience, as well as the audience in front of the small screen. Apparently the mayor was concerned about public disapproval, which hurt both his diction and his speech.
“The unification of Bulgaria since 1885 for us, the residents of Plovdiv, is always a matter of honor, dignity, but also an obligation towards the fate of Bulgaria. We are proud that in difficult times for our people, Plovdiv has played a leadership role in our national history.
The five centuries of Ottoman rule were followed by the brutal division of the Berlin Congress. In 1878 freedom was raised for a small part of the Bulgarians.
Many continue to live in territories ceded for selfish purposes by the great powers of Romania and Serbia. Eastern Rumelia fits into the diplomatic table as an autonomous province of Turkey. The worst is the fate of the Bulgarians in Thrace and Macedonia, who remained under the hated Turkish yoke, awaiting reforms in the ruined empire.
Plovdiv takes a leading role in realizing the idea of unification.
Our ancestors are not intoxicated by the fact that they will be citizens of Sofia, but are engaged in the construction of Rumelia as a second Bulgarian state. Due to the natural conditions and the proverbial diligence of the population, it is richer than the Principality, well organized and with a developed infrastructure. The intelligence of regional governors, ministers and deputies attracted hundreds of European architects and industrial engineers to help build the new state.
The spiritual elite of the Bulgarian nation meet in Plovdiv: Ivan Vazov, Konstantin Velichkov, Dr. Georgi Valkovich, Petko Karavelov, Petko Rachov Slaveykov. Zahari Stoyanov headed the Secret Central Revolutionary Committee of Bulgaria, which in the summer of 1885 united the old revolutionaries of the Renaissance and attracted the Bulgarians to the idea of unification.
The Act of Union of September 6, 1885 was reckless, but it was the first successful attempt to overcome the status quo imposed by the Great Powers. The Union announced in Plovdiv was perceived in Europe as a natural impulse of the Bulgarians in Eastern Rumelia to unite with the other free Bulgarians. They call the Union the “Plovdiv Revolution”, the “bloodless revolution”. And the explanation is in the words of the national poet Ivan Vazov: “Unification took place first in the minds and hearts of all Bulgarians.”
European newspaper correspondents after September 6 found that life in the city is getting old.
The stores are open, the markets are full. Local Bulgarians, Armenians, Jews, Greeks and Turks perceive the events as a spiritual catharsis, as a liberation of the spirit from the feeling of yesterday’s slavery.
Historians also point to the unity of the entire Bulgarian society. The residents of Plovdiv sacrifice their status as residents of Sofia to be Bulgarian. Thousands of pupils and students from all over Europe are volunteers.
The Bulgarian head of state, the ministers, the deputies, the entire intellectual elite are in defense of the Union. The officers and soldiers of the young Bulgarian army remain faithful to their oath before Mother Bulgaria. Blessed are this people, whose leaders in the most difficult moment are at the level of the historical moment.
The images of the prince, the young captains and the heroes of Slivnitsa are confirmed in the European press as symbols of the unity of each nation.
In the following decades, the Unification of Bulgaria became a lasting historical sign in the conditions of uncertain times of crisis.
And we, the people of Plovdiv, today with a pure heart and a sense of duty, can welcome you with a “Welcome” to the Feast of our city, which we are building as a leading industrial and spiritual center of the country, with a rich historical and cultural past, modern infrastructure. and with a vision of the future.
Every touch to Plovdiv is an encounter with the most valuable lessons of the Union and the most intimate manifestations of the Bulgarian spirit.
Happy Bulgarian holidays, happy holidays Plovdiv! “
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