Unification Day ( bg, Ден на Съединението, translit=Den na Saedinenieto) on 6 September is a national holiday of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. It commemorates the unification of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, '' vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Ott ...

and Bulgaria in 1885. By the terms of the

Treaty of Berlin (1878) The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East) was signed on 13 July 1878. In the aftermath of the ...

, Southern Bulgaria (named Eastern Roumelia) was separated from the newly formed Bulgarian state and returned to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

with partial autonomy. Bulgarian citizens considered the decisions of the Berlin Treaty to be unfair and began a peaceful demonstration against them. At first the plan was to annex all territories that

had gained after the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-18 ...

but later it became clear that was impossible because of the unsuitable international situation. The Bulgarians had to leave Macedonia and the rest of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

and concentrate on the East Roumelian issue. The first actions were taken in 1880 but the sharpened political situation, economic instability and the low prestige of the Bulgarian country delayed the resolution of the so-called "national question". In 1884 the "Macedonian committees" were the main body working on the unsolved problem. On 10 February 1885 led by

Zahari Stoyanov Zahariy Stoyanov ( bg, Захарий Стоянов; archaic: ) (1850 – 2 September 1889), born Dzhendo Stoyanov Dzhedev ( bg, Джендо Стоянов Джедев), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and historian. A participant ...

a group of former revolutionaries founded in Plovdiv (the capital of Eastern Roumelia) a secret committee known as BSCRC – Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee ( bg, БТЦРК – Български Таен Централен Революционен Комитет). It had regulations and programs which were connected to the organisation led by

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

and

Lyuben Karavelov Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov ( bg, Любен Стойчев Каравелов) (c. 1834 – 21 January 1879) was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. Karavelov was born in Koprivshtitsa. He began his e ...

before the Liberation. After a few months BSCRC had improved their plan for actions and organised some public events on dates significant to Bulgarians. The conference in Dermendare ( Parvanets) on 24–26 July and the next meeting on 23 August declared what should be done and exactly how to proceed. On 5 September 1885 the people rose in Goliamo Konare ( Saedinenie) and after arresting the prefect of Plovdiv the militia advanced toward the capital. On 6 September the palace in Plovdiv was surrounded. The governor

Gavril Krastevich Gavril Krastevich ( bg, Гаврил Кръстевич; 5 April 1817 – 19 November 1898) was a Bulgarian politician and historian, and the first translator of Benjamin Franklin into Bulgarian. He was born in Kotel in 1817. He was Governor ...

did not alert the Turks in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

and proclaimed his support of the people's cause. A temporary government headed by Georgi Stranski took control of the situation and armed forces were commanded by major Danail Nikolaev who began preparation for war with the Ottoman Empire. On 8 September knyaz

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

received a telegram in the old capital

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

which he was already expecting. His army was prepared and waiting for a signal. He agreed to become a leader of the Unified

. On the next day (9 September) the knyaz arrived in Plovdiv and the temporary government was dismissed. Diplomatic efforts failed and Bulgaria had to defend its interests on the battlefield in the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Ser ...

where the Bulgarians were victorious.

See also