Bulgarian - Who are we ?, Where do we come from ?

Journalist MacGahan's coverage of Bulgaria
About the book "American Witness" - a publication of Januarius MacGahan's coverage of the crushing of the April Uprising of the Bulgarians by the Ottoman Empire in 1876.

St. Nedelya church in Batak The name of the small southern town of Batak will forever be associated with the April Uprising of 1876, one of the most heroic events in Bulgarian history, and a peak in the liberation struggle of the Bulgarians against the five centuries of Ottoman domination.

The residents of Batak first fought the Turkish mercenaries on April 30, 1876. 5 000 people of the 6-7 000 population of Batak had been slaughtered in the massacre. The small church of Sveta Nedelya, built in the centre of the town has become a relic for every Bulgarian. What happened here 130 years ago has made the church into one of the symbols of April Uprising. Says Ekaterina Peychinova, Director of the Museum of History in Batak: "The Sveta Nedelya church was built in 1813, many years before the Christian population was granted greater freedoms to erect new Christian temples. Legend has it that Batak residents had finally got permission to build a small church. The Ottoman administration placed the condition that they do it in 3 months, because he was certain they would fail. However, the residents of Batak put all their efforts to this task and managed to finish the church in 75 days. And yet, the historical importance of this monument stems from the events that unfolded here during the April Uprising of 1876."

The Church of Sveta Nedelya turned out to be the last stronghold of the rebels. Probably because it was built entirely of stone, and had strong oak gates, and a high stone fence, or because no one would have dreamt that the Turks would dare destroy the temple. Nearly 2 000 people, women, children and elderly people gathered inside the church. Says Ekaterina Peychinova:

"For three days and three nights the people inside the church held together, and the shooting outside did not stop for a minute. The attackers through beehives and set fire to straw, but the rebels would not give in. Then they began to suffocate and most of the people died of asphyxia. Thirst was the biggest problem for everyone, because there was no water near the church. The mothers used the oil from the icons to moisten the lips of their babies, and when there was no more oil, they used the blood of the dead. An elderly man said they should start digging the earth in search of underground water, but the spring of 1876 had turned a dry one and their attempts failed. At the end of the third day they caved in and opened the gates of the church. But then they had only two options: either become Muslims or die. Every single one of them chose death."
The Ottoman troops had made an attempt to burn the church down, but failed completely because the church had been built entirely out of stone. Only the wooden iconostasis perished in the fire. The Turkish authorities even tried to erase every trace of violence because of the news of the international inquiry committee that was due to carry out an investigation at the idea of the Russian government. They tried to bury the corpses in one mass grave, and even painted the church on the inside, but the blood came out, and the Turks started caving out the walls. These have remained as evidence of the events of the spring of 1876.

Photos: courtesy of the Museum of History in Batak
After the Liberation in 1878, the church was no longer used for religious purposes. The residents of Batak decided to keep it as a monument to the victims of the April Uprising of 1876. In 1955 the church in Batak was declared a state museum and soon became one of the most frequently visited historical landmarks in Bulgaria. The local people like to say that the small church that fails to impress with its architecture, and that 'one has to bow to enter' becomes 'the great church of Bulgaria that one exits with one's head high up."During his short life of only 34 years, US journalist MacGahan turned into one of the most prominent military correspondents of the 19th century. He covered Russia's penetration into Central Asia, the search for Franklin's lost expedition in Antarctica, the French Prussian and the Russo-Turkish wars. As it is known, the Russo-Turkish war partly a result of the Turkish atrocities in the crushing of the April Uprising in Bulgaria. MacGahan's dispatches spread the truth about the inhuman cruelty of the Turks all over the world. Archibald Forbes, the great English writer and correspondent, who rode by his side, in an article on MacGahan pays this tribute to his great services
Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Rome, Turkey,Serbia, Thracians, Byzantium

Category:

Travel & Events

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• Bulgaria
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[gringoroko]

kum xxxpain: Zashto nari4a6 bularite slavqni, ne moga da razbera, sled kato bularite sa dali kulturato na slavqnite. Mejduvpro4em slava na bogu bulgarite ne prili4at na slavqni. I o6te po slava bogu nqmame prilika s rusnacite.Otnosno azbukata ni: nqkoi ot bukvite kato :zh , ch , c (nqmam kirilica na komputera) sa ot starobulgarskiq ezik, tei 4e vsi4ki slawqni sega izpolzwat prabulgarsk simvoli. Na prabulgarite duljim na6iqt kulturen oblik, nikakvi slavqni!! egati nevejestwoto, pfuuuuuuuu!!

[gringoroko]

A knijkite v koito pi6elo 4e bulgarite sa bili mnogo po malko ot slavqnite namiriswat na ruski u4ebnik po istoriq ot predi 89, kudeto bulgarite sa predstaweni edva li ne kato 4isti slavqni. Predlagam ti da po4ete6 malko ka4estwena istoriq a ne smrudlivi rusofilski 4etiva.

[666Shinedown]

Did you guys know that in the early stages of bulgaria you would be killed if your sword wasn't cleaned and your horse was in bad condition

[TheJohnnyrosko]

@sculcrusher1453 fuck you... don't laugh of my ancestors 

[TheJohnnyrosko]

@unomnacajit11 shut up.. you fool

[TheJohnnyrosko]

днешните българи=славяни+траки+прабълга­ри !!! today's bulgarians=slavic+tracians+Bul­gars !!!

[shocktrauma13]

i AM BULGAR AND WE ARE TURKIC NATION CALLED TATARS

[hristousa]

What's the song from 5:32? Please!

Коя е песента от 5:32?

[Azerbaijanec78]

Bulgars originally came from Central Asia they were Turkic Hunik People and Hungarians too Turan People...

[poutsas69]

@danielBG1000 i didnot say that you are today turks

i said that the first bulgarians were turkish tribe tatars and huns

today you are slavogreeks

[danielBG1000]

@poutsas69 Wtf Bulgarians are not mixed with Turks that is not true. They are mixed with poeple from Turkmenistan not from today's Turkey.Also they have Slavs , Huns , Mongols , Avars , Tatars , Magyars and other. I know my history. Turks were Seljuk and Ottoman Turks (Osmanli) Todays turks are the ottomans. Turks wre from mongolian tribes too but they arent connected with Bulgarians anyway.

[sarpele5]

A: a Bulgarian while you shit in it?

R: 9 months!

- Един български, докато глупости в него?

- 9 месеца!