An emblematic march traditionally sounds in Bulgaria on Unification Day. The Bulgarian volunteers who fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1878-1878 sang this song. Later, the tune inspired the soldiers at the battlefields during the Balkan Wars.
“Bulgarians, the whole world is watching. Into a winning battle let’s gloriously go! March, march with our general, let’s fly into battle and crush the enemy! Forward”, read part of the song’s lyrics.
Nikola Zhivkov, a famous educator, publicist, author of textbooks and creator of the first kindergarten in Bulgaria, wrote the lyrics of the song when he was among the Bulgarian volunteers of the Serbian-Turkish war that broke out in 1876. After the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885, Shumi Maritsa (Maritsa Rushes) became the official anthem of Bulgaria. It was a national anthem from 1886 until 1947. The lyrics of the song underwent a major revision by poet Ivan Vazov in 1912.
When the Hungarian Revolution of 1948 was suppressed, a large group of Hungarians, including Lajos Kossuth, settled in Shumen. Musician Mihai Shafran, the founder of the first Bulgarian orchestra, was among them. One of the popular melodies performed by this orchestra was used for the making of the music of Shumi Maritsa.
The popular version of the anthem is a remake of the famous Bulgarian composer Aleksandar Tanev.
Wrongly considered one of the symbols of the monarchic rule, the anthem was temporarily banned in the past.
After the political changes in 1989, Shumi Maritsa was included in the list of this country’s patriotic marches again and has been sounding on all national holidays.
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
An all-star Bulgarian band and a Bulgarian star performer have come together to revive a song written nearly a quarter century ago. The D2 band and Vladimir Ampov aka Grafa recorded their song "How Beautiful You Are" which was released only a couple..
The popular duo Mоlec is concluding their nationwide tour with a spectacular show. On November 21, at Arena Sofia, Christian Makarov and Julian Slavchev will take us through their musical universe with their new sound. Expect live instruments,..
The "30 Years of B.T.R." tour, which one of the most significant rock bands in Bulgaria celebrates its anniversary with, will end with two concerts in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture. Due to the great interest in the concert..
+359 2 9336 661