Unification Day () on 6 September is a national holiday of Bulgaria. It commemorates the

unification Unification or unification theory may refer to: Computer science * Unification (computer science), the act of identifying two terms with a suitable substitution * Unification (graph theory), the computation of the most general graph that subs ...

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...

and the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

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 R ...

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

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

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 Bulgaria had gained after the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; 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 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

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

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and the rest of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

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 (; archaic: ) (1850 – 2 September 1889), born Dzhendo Stoyanov Dzhedev (), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and historian. A participant in the April Uprising of 1876, he became its first historiographer with his bo ...

a group of former revolutionaries founded in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

(the capital of Eastern Roumelia) a secret committee known as BSCRC – Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (). It had regulations and programs which were connected to the organisation led by

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev (, ), 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 national hero. His poetry is a prim ...

and

Lyuben Karavelov Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov (; – 21 January 1879) was a Bulgarian writer, journalist, revolutionary and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. In his lifetime, he published many literary works. He was a leader of the Bulgarian ...

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 Saedinenie may refer to: * Saedinenie Municipality, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria * Saedinenie, Plovdiv Province - a town in the Saedinenie Municipality of the Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria * Saedinenie, Burgas Province - a village in the Sungurlare Mu ...

) 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 (; 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 General of Eastern Rumelia between ...

did not alert the Turks in Istanbul and proclaimed his support of the people's cause. A temporary government headed by

Georgi Stranski Georgi Ivanov Stranski (; 13 August 1847 – 17 January 1904) was a Bulgarian physician and politician. A close friend of Hristo Botev, Stranski was an active member of various organizations founded by Bulgarian emigrants in Romania (the United ...

took control of the situation and armed forces were commanded by

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Danail Nikolaev Danail Tsonev Nikolaev (; 30 December 1852 – 29 August 1942) was a Bulgarian officer and Minister of War on the eve of the Balkan wars. He was the first person to attain the highest rank in the Bulgarian military, General of the infantry. He w ...

who began preparation for war with the Ottoman Empire. On 8 September

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

received a telegram in the old capital

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

which he was already expecting. His army was prepared and waiting for a signal. He agreed to become a leader of the Unified Bulgaria. On the next day (9 September) the

arrived in

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 (, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', , ''Srpsko-bugarski rat''), a war between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Principality of Bulgaria, erupted on and lasted until . Despite Bulgaria's statu ...

where the Bulgarians were victorious. According to information compiled from 2012 to 2019, 25% of Bulgarians celebrated the holiday, with people claiming it was most celebrated in Plovdiv.

References

{{Reflist Culture of Bulgaria 1885 in Bulgaria

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

September observances Public holidays in Bulgaria

See also

References