It is 150 years since the day on which Vasil Levski, known as the Apostle of Freedom, was hanged in the outskirts of Sofia, a spot that is now in the centre of Bulgaria’s capital city, but the memory of him has lived on. As he himself wrote in a letter to Panayot Hitov in 1868: “If I win, I win for the whole nation - if I lose, I only lose myself.”

The official start was given, at the Ministry of Culture’s Sredets gallery at the beginning of the week, to a national programme to mark 150 years since the death of Vasil Levski, under the patronage of President Rumen Radev. “The event we are marking could well prove to be of paramount importance to all of Bulgaria,” Minister of Culture from the caretaker cabinet Nayden Todorov said, as he addressed journalists and the public. 

“Bulgaria today is a country torn asunder by conflicts. People in Bulgaria are divided on all kinds of issues. What we need now more than ever is unity and there is no one better to do that than the memory of Vasil Levski,” says Minister Todorov, and adds that the various initiatives throughout 2023 aim to point a new road of development for us as a society:

“We should remember we all belong to the same people. The key word here is together, as Vasil Levski believed,” Nayden Todorov says. 

Vasil Vasilev, chairman of the Vasil Levski national committee says that the preparations for the events from the programme took almost one year:

“Every town and village in the country is probably going to celebrate Levski, 150 years after his death.” To celebrate his life and work, the committee organized a national contest for 1^st to 12^th grade students from all over the country entitled “I am Levski”. “Children from almost 300 clubs from across the country took part in it,” Vasil Vasil says and goes on to talk about the results of their joint work with state institutions, with NGOs, and the National Art Gallery, which the public will be able to see on Sunday, 19 February at Kvadrat 500 (Square 500) gallery.

National Art Gallery director Yaroslava Bubnova describes the exhibition as a presentation of the Levski narrative using art as a medium.

“There is one more reason that makes marking this anniversary so special for the National Gallery – our newest building Kvadrat 500 is right next to the spot where Vasil Levski was hanged, a spot now marked with one of the oldest monuments in Bulgaria dedicated to Levski,” Yaroslava Bubnova says. “In a separate corner of the museum we shall present a multimedia exhibition called “Levski’s confession” by producer Ivo Milev and director Dimitar Gochev, based on Levski’s biography and offering an insight into Vasil Levski’s beliefs.”

The staff of the Vasil Levski National Museum-Karlovo is also working on a year of special events. Its director Dora Chausheva says the focus is on travelling exhibitions covering the entire territory of the country, and the “150 lessons about the Apostle” educational meetings, organized in-person and online with Bulgarian children from all over the world. 

Every generation has its own experience of Levski and his views, Dora Chausheva says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria:

“These online classes are connected with the work of the Sunday schools in other countries, we have been in contact with them for several years. We initially started with schools in Europe, then they passed our coordinates on to other schools, and that is how we are now in contact with Bulgarian schools on all continents. During the pandemic the classes were for the whole family because the children were at home with their parents. The classes include as tour of the house where Vasil Levski was born, the children are told about his family, and it all ends with a lot of questions and answers.”

Dora Chausheva says that the current exhibition on at Sredets gallery called “Rebellion of the spirit – the driving force on the road to freedom” will be translated into Czech and presented to mark 3 March at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Prague.

“A rebellion of the spirit is something all generations go through, and I hope young people in Bulgaria will grow more and more rebellious if we want to see Vasil Levski’s ideas come to fruition,” Dora Chausheva says.

The Saints Cyril and Methodius national library will also organize various initiatives, including workshops for children.

As every year, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will hold a memorial service at St. Sofia church on 19 February, followed by a procession to the monument to Vasil Levski where an official flower-laying ceremony will take place.

Photos: BGNES, BGNES-archive, vlevskimuseum-bg.org