Assoc. Prof. Milko Asparuhov, PhD Military historical museums’ director- Pleven

The town of Pleven is rightfully thought to be a memorial town and a town-museum. That is because of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878, which brought Bulgaria back to the maps of Europe and of the world. During the war the town of Pleven was of a great military, political and strategic importance. The Pleven Epopee turned to be one of the most important events of its history. By their duration, by the number of the warriors and by the casualties, the battles at Pleven proved to be events of large dimensions in the War of Liberation, events that played decisive part for the course and triumphant outcome of the War. Nobody knew the little town of Pleven up to 1877, but then it gathered the attention, emotions, hopes and excitement of the people all over the world. The liberation of Bulgaria started in Pleven – in the muddy trenches, on the strong redoubts, on the soaked with blood battlefields. After the liberation the citizens of Pleven gave very high praise to these events in their letter of grateful acknowledgement, given to the Russian Emperor Alexander II: “The liberation of Pleven is the dawn of the liberation of ancient Bulgaria”.

The War museum in Pleven is one of the first museum institutions in Bulgaria after the Liberation. It was founded, as early as 1907 and for a century until now it has been gathering, studying and making popular the common and historical heritage of the Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878. Nowadays it consists of 9 museums and 166 monuments. The collection of original uniforms, weapons, lithography, orders and medals, coins, as well as metal icons, field altars and crosses –sentimental finds from the battlefields near Pleven – are part of their rich exhibitions. This way the picture of the epic battles becomes vivid. Both the experts and the ordinary viewer can find in the original exhibits everything that expands their ideas of the majestic passage of arms between the two empires.

Building the Panorama “The Epopee of Pleven 1877” on the very place of the former battlefield near Pleven in the region of the today’s Skobelev Park, a unique monument in the south-east part of Europe, we get a synchronous idea of the real event and its artistic description. There are vivid battle scenes on the canvas inside the building while outside is the real landscape, the same land that gave shelter to the bones of the perished in ten common graves. Exhibits add to the artistic part of the Panorama and thus increase the effect of what has been seen inside and that makes it a Panorama-museum.

Welcome to the site of the War museums – Pleven. You are our welcome guests. The highly qualified experts of our institution present the museum exhibitions and thus they enrich your knowledge about the Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878; you will get to know unique records of the past which will provoke your interest and will add to your knowledge.