site.btaMilitary Ceremony Marks 140 Years since Serbo-Bulgarian War, 132 Years since Death of Prince Alexander I Battenberg

A military ceremony was held on November 7 at the Mausoleum of Prince Alexander I Battenberg in Sofia to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the Serbo-Bulgarian War and the 132nd anniversary of the death of Battenberg, Bulgaria’s first prince, who also served as commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian army during the conflict, the Defence Ministry said in a press release on Friday.

The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev, Deputy Ministers Radoslav Iliev and Adelina Nikolova, among other senior officers. Wreaths were laid by the Defence Minister and the Deputy Chief of Defence, as well as by institutions and patriotic organizations. The national anthem was played, and a minute of silence was observed in honour of the fallen. The ceremony was conducted by servicemen from the National Guard Unit and the Guard Representative Brass Band.

In 1885, Prince Alexander I Battenberg personally led the young Bulgarian army in the battles of the Serbo-Bulgarian War. The army had been established only seven years earlier, in 1878, following Bulgaria’s Liberation. Since 2024, the Defence Ministry has marked both the victory at Slivnitsa and the anniversary of Prince Alexander’s death with a commemorative ceremony at the mausoleum-ossuary in Sofia, where his remains are laid to rest.