The National Monument Of Freedom at the Shipka Peak is built on the place where one of the most deciding battles for Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman/Turkish Empire took place in 1877-1878.
The Shipka Peak is next to the Shipka Pass where the key road between North and South Bulgaria crosses the Stara Zagora mountain chain. The parking space to the left is the highest point on the Shipka Pass road.
When you visit the platform on top of the 31.5 meter high Shipka Monument Of Liberty on a clear day, you can see the town of Veliko Tarnovo to the North. Bring binoculars.
To the South of the Shipka Pass you see the town of Kazanlak to the left. The whole area to its right is the Valley of Roses, where a sea of roses bloom every year before their petals are picked in June.
This is the ridge where the Turkish soldiers tried to cross the pass during the 1877-1878 war between the Turks and the Russians, with 5,000 Bulgarian volunteers taking part.
Today the Monument Of Liberty is the national monument that symbolizes liberation and freedom - the final birth of the Bulgarian nation and independence.
Next - The Shipka Russian Church
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