Two very different milestones mark August 27 in Bulgaria’s history: the crowded 1895 mountain climb that gave birth to organised tourism, and the close of the 1916 Lerin offensive on the Macedonian Front.
August 27, 1895 — Bulgaria’s Tourism Movement Is Born
Answering a newspaper invitation from writer Aleko Konstantinov, more than 300 people of every age and background gathered to climb Cherni Vrah, the highest peak of Mount Vitosha near Sofia. A sudden turn in the weather scattered the crowd before Konstantinov could formally found the hiking club he had planned.
The mass ascent is still marked as the start of Bulgaria’s organised tourism movement, the forerunner of today’s Bulgarian Tourist Union, devoted to exploring the country’s natural and cultural heritage.
August 27, 1916 — The Lerin Offensive Concludes
After eleven days of fighting on the Macedonian Front, Bulgaria’s First Army wound down its Lerin offensive, having pushed as much as 25 kilometres into Serbian-held territory in southwestern Macedonia and taken the town of Lerin in the operation’s opening days.
Together with the parallel Struma offensive further east, the campaign strengthened Bulgaria’s position on the southern front during one of the more successful stretches of its First World War effort.
The calendar rolls on either side of today: look back at August 26 or ahead to August 28. You might also enjoy our guides to the best of Bulgaria.
