Vratsa and its environs have, in recent years, asserted themselves as the economic centre of Bulgaria’s Northwestern region. According to latest National Statistical Institute data, which include 2023, the region of Vratsa is third in the country in per capita GDP at 27,113 Leva (EUR 13 863), ceding first and second place to Sofia and Stara Zagora.

On 1 June Vratsa and its people celebrate the town’s feast day, just one day before the nation pays tribute to revolutionary poet Hristo Botev and all people who have laid down their lives for the freedom and independence of Bulgaria. The feast day of Vratsa is part of the traditional Botev Days, organized in the town from 24 May to 2 June. 2025 marks 149 years since the day Hristo Botev lost his life for the freedom of the country.

• Bulgaria lost one of the greatest heroic figures of our times in the fire of the fight for national independence

The 2 June celebrations in Vratsa start with a memorial service for Hristo Botev and his men at the church of the Holy Ascension, followed by a celebratory session of the town council, at which the Vratsa Award will be bestowed, as well as the title honorary citizen of Vratsa. In the early afternoon a procession will be organized to the place of Hristo Botev’s death in the Balkan Range, and at the end of the day there will be a concert and fireworks.

Days before the celebrations, one of the symbols of the town was returned to its place – the monument to Hristo Botev. In March the monument was dismantled for restoration, with 700,000 Leva allocated for the purpose. The event took place to the music of the town’s brass band which performed the popular march “Still White Danube”.

“We are proud, we are happy, we are excited that the monument is back with us, ready, restored. It is one of the town’s symbols and we missed it,” the band musicians told BNR’s correspondent in Vratsa Iva Antonova.

Compiled by Ivan Gergov
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos:vratsamuseum.com, BTA, Iva Antonova, Vratsa municipality