Uniquely, Plovdiv is a showcase for Bulgaria's National Revival, also referred to as the Bulgarian Renaissance, a period of socioeconomic development and national integration while the Bulgarians persevered under Ottoman rule. During this period, Bulgarian literature fueled Bulgaria's struggle for independence, an autonomous Christian church and an armed uprising in April 1876. The revival also found expression in a unique architectural style which can still be observed in Plovdiv and several other Bulgarian towns -- Koprivshtitsa, Veliko Tarnovo.
The national revival is generally accepted to have started with a historical book, written by a Bulgarian monk in 1762, and it culminated with the Liberation of Bulgaria as a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. The Paris Peace Treaty, concluded at the end of the Crimean War (1853-56), had obliged the Ottoman Empire to grant Christians equal rights with Muslims. Over time, as insurrections mounted, the continuing oppression of Christians in the Ottoman Empire captured European public attention. So there is a remnant of Russian influence -- it was the Russians who reacted with military force at a key moment in this country's history, enabling Bulgarian freedom from Ottoman domination. In this case, thanks for your assistance, Tsar Nicholas II.
As often is the case, the rise of Bulgarian nationalism erased most of the visible traces of Ottoman occupation. A solitary mosque survived demolition in Sofia, though a mosque and a Turkish bathhouse still accent old town Plovdiv. Soviet domination never was an occupation -- Bulgaria was simply part of an allied buffer against capitalist Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Although the Soviets extracted wealth over time from its alliance partners, Bulgaria, and cities such as Plovdiv, never lost their true cultural identities -- or democratic tradition.
As often is the case, the rise of Bulgarian nationalism erased most of the visible traces of Ottoman occupation. A solitary mosque survived demolition in Sofia, though a mosque and a Turkish bathhouse still accent old town Plovdiv. Soviet domination never was an occupation -- Bulgaria was simply part of an allied buffer against capitalist Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Although the Soviets extracted wealth over time from its alliance partners, Bulgaria, and cities such as Plovdiv, never lost their true cultural identities -- or democratic tradition.
