The monument of Vasil Levski, situated on the lobular place of the Apostle in Sofia, is one of the city’s first monuments built after the Liberation of Bulgaria. Designed by the architect Adolf Vaclav Kolar, the monument was inaugurated in October 1895. The funds for its construction were collected through voluntary donations from citizens and municipalities across the country.
Crafted from gray Boyan granite, the monument’s production was entrusted to the Italian stonemason Abramo Peruchetti. The medallion featuring the relief portrait of the Apostle was designed by the Viennese sculptor Rudolf von Weir. The candelabra and chains encircling the monument were the work of the Viennese firm “Rudolf Philipp Waagner.”
Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, known as Vasil Levski, holds a significant place in Bulgarian history as a national hero. Renowned as an ideologist and organizer of the Bulgarian national revolution, he founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (IRO) and earned the title of the “Apostle of Freedom” for his role in organizing a revolutionary network aimed at liberating Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. Levski envisioned a republic characterized by equality, irrespective of nationality or religion. He earned the nicknames “The Deacon” and “Gingibi.”
Vasil Levski was captured by the Turkish police near the Kakri Inn near Lovech on December 27, 1872. Subsequently, on February 18, 1873 (February 6 in the old style), he was executed near Sofia. The monument stands at the very site where Levski was hanged, serving as a tribute to his enduring legacy and the fight for Bulgaria’s liberation.
