Hundreds of Bulgarians climbed Mount Shipka to attend the official celebration of the National Holiday - March 3. Today, all of Bulgaria marks 147 years since the Liberation from Turkish slavery, BGNES reported.
Citizens from all over Bulgaria came to witness the feat of the Bulgarian volunteers at the Freedom Monument, and Parliament Speaker Natalia Kiselova delivered a speech. The cloudy weather and the cold did not stop hundreds of patriots from climbing the stairs to the top and laying wreaths and flowers.
In order for our Bulgaria to take a worthy place in the modern world, we must remember the past and the achievements of our ancestors and consistently defend our national interests, said the Speaker of the National Assembly in her speech on Mount Shipka.
Natalia Kiselova accepted the guard of honor, bowed to the memory of the defenders of the peak and laid a wreath in the crypt of the Freedom Monument. The Speaker of the National Assembly noted that we live in dynamic and difficult times, a time of transformations and previously unknown challenges, but the commandment to protect the Motherland, to make efforts for it to develop as a democratic, legal and social state remains unchanged. Natalia Kiselova called on those empowered by the people not to forget Levski's words: “Look at the people's work more than anything else, respect it more than yourself!“.
The solemn celebration of the national holiday and the 147th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria on Mount Shipka was attended by MPs, representatives of local authorities, and thousands of Bulgarians. A requiem prayer in memory of the dead was read by Metropolitan Grigoriy of Veliko Tarnovo and Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora.
"God protect Bulgaria! Long live Bulgaria!", echoed throughout the Balkans.