Plovdiv commemorates 123rd anniversary of Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising

On 2 August, the city of Plovdiv held a solemn ceremony to mark the 123rd anniversary of the Ilinden‑Preobrazhenie uprising of 1903. The event took place in front of the monument dedicated to Bulgarians from Eastern and Western Thrace and Macedonia who fell in the national‑liberation struggles. Organized by the municipal cultural calendar, the program featured a military band, a ceremonial guard from the Special Operations Command, and representatives of local historical societies.

The ceremony was hosted by Zlato Pavlov, and the official address was delivered by Dr. Milen Mihov, chair of the Macedonian Scientific Institute and associate professor of modern Bulgarian history at Veliko Tarnovo University. Attendees included officials from state and municipal institutions, political and civic organisations, and members of the public, who concluded the observance with a minute of silence and the laying of wreaths.

The Ilinden‑Preobrazhenie uprising, which began on 2 August 1903, involved roughly 26 000 rebels fighting Ottoman forces across Macedonia and Thrace. Although ultimately suppressed, the revolt remains a pivotal episode in Bulgarian and Macedonian history, symbolising the struggle for national liberation.